


Dragons, Snakes, and Secrets

by Demondog136, EllianaNarna



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Book Spoilers, Budding relationships, Child Neglect, Dumbledore Bashing, Dumbledore Being a Dick, Evil Dumbledore, Good Severus Snape, Good Slytherins, Good!Lucius Malfoy, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Luna Lovegood Is Awesome, M/M, Manipulative Dumbledore, Most Weasleys Bashed, Multi, Not really gone into detail about though, Not the Weasley twins though, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Third Person, Papa Bear Severus Snape, Past Child Abuse, Protective!Lucius, Protective!Severus, Protective!Slytherins, Ravenclaw!Hermione, Ron Weasley Bashing, Ron Weasley Being an Asshole, Severitus, Single Harry (for this part anyway), Slytherin!Harry, Supportive!Slytherins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2018-12-14 12:37:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 41
Words: 56,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11783307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demondog136/pseuds/Demondog136, https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllianaNarna/pseuds/EllianaNarna
Summary: Harry Potter thought his fourth year was going to be peaceful, where he wouldn't have to worry about anything (except the Dark Lord out for his blood, as per bloody usual). The Tri-Wizard tournament was here at Hogwarts and he was not old enough to take place. How wrong could he turn out to be? When his name is called from the goblet, a plethora of changes and secrets are on their way. How can Harry defeat dragons and handle deceiving headmasters, while also learning things about the past that will change not just his life, but the fate of the Wizarding World?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Lovelies Demon here, I want to welcome you to another fantastic adventure. If you are returning readers of mine I welcome you back to another adventure! If you are new, welcome to my little corner of writing :) I hope that you all doing good. This lovely piece is on I have been working on with the lovely EllianaNarna for well over a month worth of emailing xD and we are happy to say that we feel confident to start posting it here on AO3. Well enough from me xD cuz I really do not know what else to put here and will continue on rambling, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
> 
> Hey guys, it's Elli, just basically wanted to say hi and that I'm really excited about posting this! Demon and I have got chapters written in advance, so we should post every week. This week is a special bonus, two chapters for the price of one! Cos chapter 1 is basically just canon xD  
> However I will say now that this story will go on hiatus due to events in real life, not sure how long for but unfortunately there will be a period of time (a few years or so) when this story will not be updated. However, this fic will never be abandoned! So I'll shut up and let you get on with the story now :)

All the students of the three most prestigious magical schools in Europe had gathered in the Great Hall of the magnificent Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; everyone was ecstatic about what was going to take place. The one thought running through every mind, even those of the teachers, was who their chosen champion would be; whispers and bets were flying around like the bats that would typically adorn the Hall on this night. This evening, on All Hallows Eve, a night of great power in the Wizarding World, the magical object known as the Goblet of Fire would choose the lucky students who would represent their schools and battle for the bragging rights of belonging to the best magical institution of learning.

There was one student amongst the many excited pupils who was the most happy about this interesting and important evening, although not for the reason everyone else was so highly anticipating the events that were to come; and that student's name was Harry Potter. He was happy that for once in his short life he would not be the centre of attention - a great contrast to the others surrounding him, who were all-too-eager to try and put their names in the Goblet for a chance of fame. Harry thought that entering the Triwizard Tournament was stupid, and couldn't understand why his schoolmates' opinions differed: why would he risk his life just for some money and the dubious prize of some bragging rights? He already seemed to have to risk his life like that every year, what with a certain Dark Lord coming after him for some reason that was not easily discernible, so he was more than happy to sit back and let someone else have the limelight. In fact, if Harry's bipolar luck decided to bless him, the Hogwarts Champion would even keep the fame; it seemed that since entering Hogwarts Harry couldn't even go to the bathroom at times without someone following him, either hoping to get lucky with the Boy-Who-Lived or wanting to find out a secret they could sell to the press. It was a very annoying problem, and Harry was tired of it; he just wanted to be an ordinary boy for once. Maybe this year would be his chance at the normality his classmates took for granted.

It was then that the Hogwarts Headmaster, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, made his appearance, standing in front of the teacher's table with the Goblet of Fire between him and the students who were so eagerly waiting for the champions' selection. Lifting his arms wide, calling attention to himself, Dumbledore's voice rang out into the Hall: "Please be seated students, tonight is what you have been waiting for! Tonight, the champions will be chosen!" He took a small step forward to get closer to the magical device, his vivid blue and purple robes swirling around him as he walked up to the Goblet whose blue flames reflected on the aged and wrinkled hands approaching it. The dancing flames turned violent suddenly, spitting and sparking while changing to a red-orange hue; the fire then threw a piece of singed paper into the air, the scrap slowly floating down until it was within the grasp of the respected Headmaster.

"The Champion for Durmstrang is ... Viktor Krum!"

Cheers erupted not just from the Durmstrang students, but those from the other two schools as well, in excitement and congratulations as the large Bulgarian made his way forward, a smile on his scruffy-looking face as he took the piece of paper his name was obviously on and was directed towards a door situated in the front of the Great Hall.

Once he was through the door the Hall went quiet once again, breaths being held as the assembled crowd watched in anticipation of the next champion to be chosen. All the students were sitting on the edge of their seats as the blue flame turned once again to the raging red. It spat out a spiraling piece of paper this time, making the paper twist and turn as it fell. Once again, the Hogwarts Headmaster grabbed it when it was within reach. All eyes turned to him, glowing in excitement.

“The champion from Beauxbatons is... Fleur Delacour.”

A fierce blonde stood up from the center of the Beauxbatons group, her smile a little smug as if she had known all along that she was going to be chosen. Her group of friends produced a small amount of applause, smiling up at the girl as the students of the other schools cheered and hollered, happy for the beautiful young witch to be chosen. She was also directed to the door behind the teachers' table.

Once again the students turned their attention back to the Goblet, all the older Hogwarts students holding their breaths in the hopes that they would be chosen to represent their school, and for a chance to be in the limelight for their 15 minutes of fame. The Goblet's flickering flames turned fiery red once more, spitting out the last burnt paper. The whole school watched as the paper descended as if in slow motion, eyes glistening in hope and anticipation. The Headmaster caught the paper as breaths caught in students' throats, everything seeming to pause until the Headmaster announced with an overinflated sense of grandeur:

“And the last champion, the Hogwarts champion is…. Cedric Diggory!"

The Hogwarts students let out a roar of pride and satisfaction as the smiling Hufflepuff was patted on the back and had his hair ruffled by his housemates in the excitement, walking up and claiming his name with a smile before walking through the door to where the two other champions waited.

The Headmaster turned to face the remaining students, some of whom were visibly disappointed that their names hadn't come out of the Goblet. Dumbledore clapped his hands together to bring the attention to himself once more. "Excellent! We now have our three champions! But in the end, only one will go down in history. Only one will hoist this chalice of champions, this vessel of victory, the Tri-Wizard Cup!”

Suddenly the Goblet's blue flame turned a blazing red once again, hissing and spitting in anger, flames jetting out. Gasps from teachers and students alike echoed through the hall. Another parchment was spat out, in haste it seemed, from the Goblet before the flames turned back to blue, slowly dying now that the selection of champions was over with. The students' eyes were glued to the paper in confusion about what had just happened; the whole point of the Tri-Wizard Tournament was that it included just that, THREE wizards. Albus Dumbledore once again reached his hand out to the paper, catching it effortlessly and reading the name upon it.

“Harry Potter…” It came out as a whisper; students who had heard the Headmaster turned in shock and hate as they started to whisper to their neighbours about what was happening. “HARRY POTTER!” Dumbledore bellowed for the student.

Harry was in shock: he didn’t put his name in the stupid thing, he was glad that it had seemed this year he wouldn't be put into dangerous situations - he didn’t want to something like this to happen! A hand grabbed his arm, hoisting him up from his seat where he wanted to stay; of course no one would believe him if he told the truth about not wanting to be in the tournament. He was pushed forward, all eyes upon the scrawny young teen as he made his way to the front of the Hall, dread building in his small body with every step towards the teachers' table. He fervently wished to be anywhere but here, hoping to wake up from this ridiculous nightmare, but his wishes and hopes were ignored - as he reached the staff table, Dumbledore's eyes twinkled dimly at him with a hint of disgust and disappointment. Harry's heart sank even further as he walked to his doom, otherwise known as the room where the other champions were waiting. He was not looking forward to this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the lovely bonus chapter is here :) I'm really sorry in advance for the accents, it's the first time I've tried writing accents and it's a lot harder than I thought before! 
> 
> I hope all you lovelies enjoy it! Please remember, kudos and comments are the food for our muses! And without further ado, chapter 2!

If possible, Harry grew even more nervous as he slowly pushed open the door to the room where the other champions waited. The three occupants turned to look at him, assuming he had brought them a message from the Hall they had not long left. Instead their confusion grew as Harry hesitantly stepped inside, almost trying to disappear into the wall he moved to stand against. Before the older students had a chance to question him, however, the door opened once more to admit the three headteachers, Professors Snape and McGonagall, Ludo Bagman and Bartemius Crouch. All the adults looked at Harry with varying degrees of anger, distrust and disappointment, although strangely Snape looked almost excited - perhaps at the idea that Harry would surely be punished for this offense? Harry didn't know for sure, seeing as he wasn't a mind reader, but his stomach sunk even lower at the thought; surely anything that excited Snape would not end well for Harry.

Dumbledore was the one who broke the tense silence. "Harry, my boy, did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?" Before Harry could begin to protest his innocence, it sounded as though a bomb had gone off as everyone else spoke at once - all of them yelling at the unfairness that had apparently taken place while the three champions were waiting in the antechamber, and suggesting that Hogwarts was somehow cheating in the competition.

"What you mean, zat zis leetle boy is to compete in zis tournament? Absolutement pas!" Fleur and Madame Maxime were outraged, apparently just because of Harry's young age. A sneer set upon the pretty face of the young French girl as she took in the disheveled-looking kid as he cowered there before them, as if none of this was his fault, taking away the honour (although perhaps a better word would be fame) that was to be the rightful champions' for representing their schools.

"Vot is de meaning, Dumbledore? Hogwarts gets two goes at de Cup? Have de rules changed to favour de host school? I demand we re-choose de champions! If Hogwarts gets two champions, so should everyone else!" came the angry reactions of Krum and his headmaster Karkaroff. Admittedly Karkaroff was the more vocal of the two, but Krum's previous smile was nowhere to be seen as his eyebrows lowered in a surly manner. Krum looked on at the scrawny boy in a disparaging manner; in his opinion, the younger boy was unfit to be a champion, he estimated that the boy was not even of age.

Dumbledore once again spoke up. "Well, did you, my boy?" Once again Harry was prevented from answering, this time by the entrance of the scary-looking Professor Moody. The Professor limped his way over to the large angry group all looking at the raven-haired teen in scorn, his creepily swivelling eye taking everyone in as well as where their wands were located on the person’s body.

"Nonsense Albus, you drew that Age Line yourself! No boy of Potter's age could get around it, let alone manage to Confound an ancient and powerful artifact such as the Goblet of Fire! CONSTANT VIGILANCE! It's clear that the boy has been entered by an agent of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!" To everyone in the room it made some sort of sense, especially to those who knew of Harry's previous ... adventures ... with Voldemort since starting Hogwarts, but of course this did not stop the blame game going on, nor did it fully clear Harry’s name. It was just an explanation of what possibly could have happened, assuming one believed that Harry had not somehow managed to enter his name himself.

This seemed to reassure the other competitors a bit, although Cedric still looked rather annoyed, but Moody's unexpected defense of Harry only served to make the young teen's stomach drop even further. Moody was well known for being paranoid - there'd be an article over the summer about how he had apparently attacked his own dustbins! - and if only he believed Harry, things weren't looking good... If nothing happened to raise Harry's spirits (and his still-sinking stomach!) soon, he might never be able to smile again.

Harry zoned out for the next part of the conversation, seeing as apparently, he wasn't needed for it. Nobody but Dumbledore seemed to want to ask Harry if (and how) he had managed to put his name in the Goblet. In fact, only Moody was verbally supporting Harry, adamant that no teenager would have been able to trick the magical cup into thinking there were four champions needed. Snape looked more gleeful than Harry had thought possible as it seemed that everyone (excluding the paranoid Moody) believed Harry had entered his name himself. McGonagall was stern-faced as always, but occasionally she would look over at Harry and her face would soften minutely. McGonagall felt bad for her young lion going through something like this, he seemed to never be able to catch a break; year in and year out he seemed to be always fighting something or having to constantly look over his shoulder for danger. She wished such a large burden was not placed on his young shoulders, but as her mother used to say, 'If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.'

"ENOUGH!" Dumbledore finally bellowed after twenty minutes of pointless accusations. "Bartemius, does Mr Potter have to participate in this competition?" Everyone silenced as they waited to find out the young boy's fate, none of them more dreading the outcome than the very boy in question.

"Um... According to the by-laws and... and regulations of this prestigious... and revered competition... any... any person whose name comes out of the Goblet... must compete, or lose their magic!" Mr. Crouch finally stammered out, looking very uncomfortable as everyone's eyes were on him. "There's... there's nothing for it, Albus... The boy must compete." It once again sounded as though a bomb had been set off, and Harry glumly reflected that by now his stomach was probably somewhere in Australia, never to be reunited with the rest of him - except possibly his spirits, seeing as they were sinking more rapidly than before. In fact, he was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the room clearing out, the other champions and most staff leaving the room, some still discussing whether or not Harry should be forced to participate. He was brought back to reality however, by Snape's usual brittle tone.

"Come along Potter, I haven't got all night! Or is the convenience of other people even further below you now that you are a Hogwarts champion?" he snarled sarcastically. "The Headmaster has asked - or should I say ordered - me to escort you to the Gryffindor Tower, no doubt believing that you used that last of your little brains to enter into this idiotic excuse for a competition."

Harry looked up at Snape, startled. "Sorry sir," without even a trace of rebellion or disrespect in his voice. "I was..." His voice trailed away as Snape simply turned, his robes flaring out magnificently, and left the room, presumably expecting Harry to follow. Hurrying to catch up to the Potions Master's long stride, Harry had yet another sinking feeling, although he didn't know why. Surely everything that could have gone wrong tonight, already had?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We were suppose to post this last week, but it kinda of slipped our minds xD hope you like this chapter leave comments and Kudos below! We live off of them xD with out them we starve, so feed us!

Harry and Snape slowly made their way up the long winding staircases, occasionally having to wait for them to relocate, both in silence, the teacher several strides in front of his student. Harry was lost in thought, mulling over everything he could have possibly done in past lives to piss off Fate enough that the negativity in his current life was just revenge. He was just tired of everything and wished that he could just be a normal person, instead of the legendary Boy-Who-Lived; who would want a to be known by a nomenclature with so many hyphens, especially when it disregarded everything he'd done since he was 15 months old? Although to be fair, old MouldyShorts had it a bit worse, what with the moronic "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" nonsense. It might have been the stairs, or the silence, or possibly Harry's dark thoughts, but something made the walk seem to drag on forever; or was it the slowly building pain right behind his eyes? Harry just didn’t know.

 

It was then that it seemed that everything started to go in and out of focus, like his eyes had decided to malfunction for whatever reason; Harry stumbled as his body suddenly felt like lead, every muscle trembling at the effort it was taking to even stay standing. He placed his hand on the closest wall for support as his breathing went ragged, quickly shifting so that he could lean his whole weight against the wall as his body continued to weaken, his vision rapidly becoming worse than it was without his glasses - and yet he still had them on his face.

 

Snape noticed after a few moments that the brat was not following him up the stairs; he sneered, hating the job of keeping an eye on the boy-who-lived-to-be-a-pain-in-the-neck. If it wasn't for the promise he made to the brat's mother, even if it was after his beloved Lily had passed over...

 

He turned around to face the boy who was leaning against the stone wall. “Look Potter, you might not have anything important to get done, but others have a job to get to!” Snape snapped at the youth, walking down the stairs (thankfully they hadn't moved!) over to the wall he was leaning against. Upon closer inspection Snape saw that the younger wizard was having difficulty catching his breath, and a cold sweat was sitting upon his brow and upper lip as well.

 

“I-I’m sorry sir,” the boy's reply was breathless, lacking the usual disrespect; his vivid green eyes that brought bittersweet memories to Snape slid over to look at the 'dungeon bat' but it seemed that they couldn’t focus on anything, “I-I don’t feel so good. Give me a moment?” Harry pleaded with any deity that was looking over at him, hoping that Snape would find it in his ice-cold heart to give him a moment. Of course, most of those beings would either be laughing at the child or not paying attention, so why did he even try?

 

Snape sneered once again, unhappy about what was going on, but he could not let a child suffer when it was so clear that that was what was occurring, even if the spawn was that of James bloody Potter. So, he decided that they would spend only two minutes to catch his breath.

 

"Alright, Potter,” he spat the last name, reminded once again of his schoolyard nemesis, “you have two minutes.” The boy stared in shock, causing a dark look to pass over the Potions Masters face. Did the boy really think that he was so cold as to deny something like a small rest to a student that was clearly in need of it?

 

They stood there in the darkening staircase, the sun slowly setting, the moon rising with even less speed. The only thing that could be heard (other than the stone of the stairs as they continued to move randomly) was the rasps of the youth as his ability to breathe worsened even more and his body became weaker. It was then that Snape decided that something was really wrong with the youth, and took a step closer, pulling his wand free from his sleeve to check the boy. The movement did not sit well with the child who was currently unable to keep his focus on objects, and the movement brought back dark memories. With a yelp, the boy stumbled over his heavy feet and thin air as he tried to get away, falling onto to the ground and inadvertently causing a release of a powerful magic.

 

The blast of hot magic caused the boy to lose consciousness as it overwhelmed him, and left his body glowing whilst changes were rapidly happening. The short wild hair changed, lengthening and tumbling, now in smooth waves. His facial structure altered as well; he now had sharp-looking cheekbones, his cheeks looking even more gaunt than usual in comparison, and his eyes and nose changed shape, the boy's face becoming more striking than it was before. His fingers, arms and legs lengthened as well, stretching his stunted frame to a more respectable height. If the boy’s eyes were open the Potions Master would see that they changed in colour completely, going from a bright green to a shockingly familiar ebony black.

 

The blast of magic caught Snape off guard; he barely had time to cast a shield around himself as the unleashed magic went crazy, whipping around the small boy and lashing out at what it saw as an intruder. When he lowered the shield, judging that the danger to himself had now passed, he was in for the biggest shock of his life, one that would have him cursing everyone who kept this secret from him.

 

Severus scooped up the still too small boy - he didn’t want to take him to the infirmary in fear that he would be blamed by the dragon that protected that area, otherwise known as Madam Pomfrey; he would like to keep his life instead of messing with the dragon lady - so that left only one option.

 

With a quick turn, his cloak flared around him creating that image of a bat that he liked to keep; he carried the small boy down into the snake pit, and entered a place very few have ever seen: his rooms. There he hoped that he could find out what was going on, and discover if any other secrets were being kept from him; the secrets that would end up being revealed would result in a monumental impact on the Wizarding World as a whole.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies I hope you all are having a good time! I'm happy that you are enjoying this writing we have worked to hard on and we love the support you have shown us! I (demon) will be at college as of now and working as a full time student, but I will be trying my hardest to remember to post chapters on time once a week on Saturday. Anyways good news for you readers is that we have made an outline of the number of chapters we want to see in this, so the only delay you will have in chapters is if we forget to post or we lost out muse somewhere far away and they refuse to come back to us. But other than that you are in a real treat for this is going to be about 40 chapter fic. :) Well enough from me here is chapter 4!

As soon as Snape had put Harry to rest on the small sofa that graced his living room, he rushed to gather every healing potion he had on hand - and as he had recently finished brewing for the Hospital Wing he was currently keen to avoid, the number of potions he had was quite high. Quickly returning to the sofa where Harry lay still unconscious, Snape put down the numerous vials that wouldn't fit in his pockets, emptying his robes too before running an in-depth diagnostic scan on the boy.

Seeing the length of parchment that was the result of his spell, the Slytherin lost his composure and let his true feelings show for once, expressing his horror at the extent of Harry's injuries(both past and present) by muttering ancient Latin curses. He had never seen a diagnostic result as this, not even from patients he had seen who had suffered from a major accident, or those who were over a century older than Potter! The surprises were not to stop there however; as Snape began to read the results, he rapidly became horrified at what was before his eyes. The time Potter had spent with his parents before their premature deaths - Snape spared a thought for his beautiful Lily, before forcing himself back to the task at hand - showed up as the usual few ailments that affected children of that young age, but shortly after the boy vanquished the Dark Lord those childhood ailments changed to something that was abhorrent to the Professor after his own miserable youth - child abuse, both physical and (presumably) emotional. Snape would have to reserve judgement on the latter until the youth had woken up; now, however, he had work to do.

Cursing again under his breath, Snape set about spelling potions into Harry's stomach, occasionally casting a bandaging spell too as the child's broken and fractured bones were shifted into their proper positions. The Great Bat of the Dungeons muttered insults against Dumbledore as he worked; the infuriating old man had said that the boy was safe! More than that, the fool had told Severus that the Boy-Who-Just-Wouldn't-Die was spoilt and resembled his father in more than just looks, bringing to Snape's mind memories of the "pranks" that the Marauders perpetrated against him whilst they were all in school together. Clearly all claims of the younger Potter living like a prince and being spoilt were all balderdash, and either Dumbledore was ridiculously naive or worse than the Dark Lord - the former if he believed that Muggles would welcome raising a wizard, the latter if he had known of the heinous abuse and had continued to send the boy back to wherever he had been raised. Abuse was the reason Severus had joined the Dark Lord after all: sickened by the horrible mistreatment he suffered at the hands of his Muggle father, he went to the Headmaster and begged for his help, pleaded not to be returned to what he could only describe as Hell - only for the esteemed Headmaster to tell young Severus that he was exaggerating and that his father loved him really! Which was total bullshit; of course, the blasted old man did not care about him, a mere Slytherin, too busy with and concerned about those Gryffindorks who made Severus' life even more like Hell than his home life did. No, the "great man" who led the school was more concerned with making sure his beloved Gryffindors would not be expelled, rather than giving a flying toss about any other students' health, and ensuring he kept those Light-loving families firmly in his pocket. No, Dumbledore did not care about those belonging to Dark families, or worse to the so-called "Dark House" - and cared even less about those students who fit into both categories, such as the unfortunate Severus Snape (after all, the Prince family were an ancient Pureblood House caring more about purity than anything else, as evidenced by the removal of his mother upon the event of her marrying a Muggle).

Unnoticed by the Potions Master as he was lost in the dark memories of his past, Harry was slowly coming back to consciousness, fighting his way out of the darkness that had overcome the young teen. Becoming more aware, he slowly realised that he was lying on something comfortable and felt better than he had in years. No more did his bones ache, protesting just supporting his weak and malnourished body, no longer did he feel the sting of old lash wounds pulling at his back whenever he made a small movement; this wasn't all, but the teen noticed that every part of his body was now blessedly free of pain, and he felt so much lighter now he was no longer weighed down by constant agony. Wondering what had happened after he had passed out - Merlin! He'd lost consciousness while alone with Snape; what if he'd done something to him, or worse, had delivered him to Voldemort?! After thinking about it for a few moments though, Harry realised that if that was what had happened, the Dark Lord was treating him better than the Light side ever had. And realising this, Harry wondered if perhaps there was more to the war than he had been led to believe... He had noticed that the Headmaster never listened to his pleas for help or his begging requests to not be sent back to the Dursleys (even if it was only for the summer), saying it was for the 'Greater Good' and Harry's own safety. Yet there would not be much of him left for the 'Greater Good' to use if his apparently loving family beat him black and blue until he finally died, and the protection that apparently surrounded the house might stop the Death Eaters but did nothing to ensure his safety from his family; but none of that appeared to matter as long as the Headmaster had him firmly under his control. Harry knew that he and his friends (if they would still be his friends after this - whatever 'this' was) should have been expelled after the events of his first year, yet the Headmaster had apparently disregarded the rules and somehow ensured the 'Golden Trio' - and Merlin, Harry hated that name! - would return for their second year at Hogwarts.

Snape came out of his depressing thoughts in time to watch a flurry of emotions cross Harry's face - but that wasn't what caught his attention. Now that the boy was awake, his professor's focus was on the child's eyes - eyes that eerily mirrored those surveying the youth. Snape had barely noticed the changes to Harry's body, being more focused on the damage done, but now he saw how much the teen had changed since collapsing not even 30 minutes ago. The youth's body was longer, the petite frame gaining a couple of inches, and his individual limbs were of a greater length too. Harry's whole appearance had altered dramatically; if Snape hadn't seen the boy undergo the changes, he wouldn't have believed it was the same child. In fact, despite seeing the changes occur in front of his eyes - why did the boy have his eyes now?! - Snape almost believed that this was a vivid dream, so different was the child in front of him.

"Potter," he growled. "What the bloody Hell have you done now?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We do hope that you enjoyed this chapter! We love comments and Kudos and we encourage them since they make us writing faster and not lose out muses as much! So if you are so kind to leave them down below we will love you forever for it. We also will try to get back to your input as fast as possible (Demon is very sorry that she forgets to comment back, she looks at them happily, but then gets called away before she can reply.) If you are too shy email Demon at demondog136@yahoo.com I promise I do not bite, I love talking about anything really, and happily encourage you to do so. That is how I make a lot of friends, and how I met my lovely co-writer! :D
> 
> For EllianaNarna you can find their email on their profile, but here shortly they won't be able to reply to any emails, so please do not get mad if you send an email and hear nothing back for a long period.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my time away was pushed until the end of the month, so I have some more time to write :) that is, if Musey ever decides to come back xD Demon and I have chapter 21 written so far, and we have an outline so Demon can keep writing even when I'm AFK. Anyway, enough from me, onto the chapter! And this one's a juicy one folks xD

"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about sir," the younger wizard stumbled over his words as his Potions Professor demanded answers to things he had no clue about. Was the surly bat asking about why he had passed out? But then why was he staring at Harry with surprise not very well-hidden in his black eyes? As far as Harry knew, that was the only thing of interest that had occurred since his name had come out of the Goblet, and somehow he didn't think Snape was referencing that. Although now that he was thinking about it, his body did feel a little different, once he had gotten used to not being in pain any more.

Without warning, Severus started to cast spell after spell on the youth, wondering what the hell was happening: medical spells to see what curses, hexes, jinxes and other damages had been done; others were seeing if there were any potions or spells in the boy's system that would alter his appearance in such a dramatic fashion. Snape went over to his bookcase and began pulling out books on charms, potions and many others to start research on what could have happened; all the while the parchment that were the result of the diagnostic spells were placing themselves on the coffee table next to the sofa Harry still occupied. The sheer amount of paper neatly organising itself on the table was astounding and very scary, even to a normally unshakeable man like Severus - it made the man pale even more than could be explained by his natural pallor. Maybe he was wrong about the boy - maybe, just maybe, he had a childhood much like Snape's own.

Harry, meanwhile, was just sitting there staring at the Professor, wanting to protest about the numerous spells that the man was casting on him, but he didn't get a chance before the man began muttering to himself and turned to the bookcase, pulling off loads of books and setting them next to the ever-growing stack of parchment on the table. He sat frozen in fear of what his teacher might learn about him from all the spells fired in his direction; would Snape learn that Harry didn't have such a nice family, that he was a failure of a wizard for letting his Muggle family beat and abuse him? Harry knew that it wasn't really his fault, but it was instilled in him from a young age that he was to blame for everything, and so he couldn't stop himself from feeling like he was the cause of all this trouble.

The paper flow finally came to a stop - and a good thing too, for if it had gone on much longer the stack would have destabilised and fallen to the floor, creating an unholy mess of paper. The information on the parchment went from childhood to present day, starting from now and slowly working its way backward. Severus picked up the top few pieces and slowly leafed through them. He disregarded the normal childhood injuries such as small tumbles and scrapes, some diaper rashes - everything was normal until that night. The first case of foreign magic on the child was a charm that was placed on the boy to cover up who he truly looked like; other examples that soon followed were a potion to limit his power, and a head injury that had been infused with dark magic, presumably the boy's famous scar. Going through more of the documents, Snape saw that the child had been placed with a family that was not all that loving - there were numerous reports of broken bones that were never set or healed properly, extensive scarring on the boy's back, hands, and legs, as well as malnutrition and other indicators that pointed toward the child being starved over long periods of time; judging from the way the injuries were inflicted, Snape suspected it was Muggles who had taken care of the boy - something that had been confirmed by Albus' assertion that he would grow up without knowing his place in the Wizarding World, an assertion that Snape had called into question numerous times as he expressed his ire at the boy's pride and spoilt nature. The list of foreign magic continued, each year seeming to grow worse; it seemed to drastically impair the child's innate magic when the boy turned 11, as the number of spells and potions seemed to triple. Then came the times that covered Harry's 'adventures' at Hogwarts; Severus saw that vast numbers of compulsion spells and loyalty potions were administered regularly; he also saw that the boy had basilisk venom and phoenix tears in his blood - he'd actually survived not only the Killing Curse, but a basilisk's bite! Maybe the child's name should be changed to the Boy-Whose-Luck-Saved-His-Arse-Too-Many-Times-To-Count! Snape refocused back on what he was doing, setting down the parchment as he finished reading through it all and summoning potions to correct the abundance of health problems the boy had - a few being Skele-Gro, different levels of Pain Relievers, and Nutrition potions. The bottles landed gently on the table and seemed to organise themselves, including more than a few that Harry had never seen before.

Another thing that seemed to stick in Severus' brain was the boy's blood type - he was AB, something that was highly unlikely if not impossible seeing as Lily had had O-type blood. _'Maybe this would explain what the sudden change in appearance was about,'_ Severus thought as he lifted a small bottle of potion from the line - a potion that he never believed he would use, but had on hand as it was an interesting potion to brew and had a long shelf-life.

"Potter," he addressed the boy after a long silence had filled the room. "In a moment I will be healing your injuries, both those you currently have and those that were inflicted some time ago but have not healed properly. But first, I require three drops of your blood."

The boy scowled at the teacher, unhappy at having been ignored for so long and the allusions to the abuse he had suffered. "Why should I, _sir_?" he spat. "All you have done is cast lots of spells at me without telling me what they are or what's going on, and I want some explanations!"

Severus sighed, he should have expected this from the brat. Instead of answering verbally he conjured a full-length mirror, knowing that it would be easier to skip the inevitable argument (Snape telling what happened, the brat denying it, Severus insisting it was the truth etc) and just go straight to undeniable proof.

Harry sat in shock. It seemed that not only had his own glamour (the one he used to cover his scars) worn off, but another had as well. Instead of the normal underweight teen with bright green eyes, untameable hair and a decent tan (from all that time slaving in the garden), now he spied another looking back at him. The stranger in the mirror had eyes resembling onyx, hair that was a black wave tumbling down to his shoulders, and albino-looking skin with several prominent scars. This boy looked skeletal, almost every bone protruding - Harry could count the ribs without any difficulty, even through the clothing that covered them! The stranger also looked a bit taller than Harry was, looking to stand at about 5'4" instead of the 5' Harry was used to. Most of the boy's facial features were sharper than Harry was used to seeing in the mirror, almost like... No, that was not possible, what the Hell was he thinking?!

"What the bloody fuck is going on?!" Harry demanded to know, almost shocked to see the boy in the mirror copying his words and facial expression - this was not possible, not one single bit of it! If it was, it would mean that Harry would have to face the fact that he had unknowingly been living a lie his whole life, that he was not who he was told he was, and that was something Harry did not want to face up to currently.

"Language, Mr Potter!" Snape corrected the child in his usual snappish tone. "That is what I want to find out, and to do so I require the aforementioned three drops of your blood." Severus held out a knife and the small vial of clear liquid. "All that is needed is for you to prick your finger and allow ONLY three drops of your blood into the vial. Ensure it is only three drops and that I do not have to deal with your usual inadequacy when it comes to potions!"

Harry didn't want to do anything this loathsome man said, but at the same time he wanted answers himself about what was going on. So he reluctantly took the knife and potions vial, removing the stopper and quickly pricking his finger before allowing three drops of the resultant blood to drip into the vial. The potion quickly changed from transparent to crimson. Snape took the potion back and tipped it out over a clean sheet of parchment, Harry watching in amazement as the spilt liquid seemed to move into place and evaporate, leaving words in its place.

**Hadrian Severitus Potter-Prince-Snape**  
 _Mother/Bearer:_ James Charlus Potter  
 _Father:_ Severus Tobias Prince-Snape  
 _Blood adopted by:_ Lily Jane Evans  
 _Godmother:_ Alice Susannah Longbottom nee Prewett  
 _Godfather:_ Remus John Lupin

The truth was finally out - James had never cheated on Severus, he was faithful until his death - but then why was it Severus never knew he had a son? Why would James hide such a big secret from him?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right my lovelies! As you know, our update days are Saturdays. However, today is my birthday, and I want to give you guys a treat - so here is a bonus chapter for you!  
> EllianaNarna
> 
> Hello lovelies demon here! I first want to give a nice big warm Happy Birthday to Elli:) I hope today is a good day for you in celebrating becoming another year older. Also to you lovely readers for break 1000 views on This! We are so happy that you are enjoying the story thus far, and hope you will stick with us.

The two males stared at each other in shock for a few long moments, before Snape gathered himself enough to sit on the sofa and gestured for Harry to do the same. Surprisingly though, it was the youth who somehow found his voice and broke the silence first.

"Sir?" It came out a lot more timidly than Harry would have liked, but at least it made a sound - and to be fair, he had just had one Hell of a shock. "What does that mean?" Would Snape want him to call him Dad now? Or would he be treated just as demeaningly as before, worse now that the two men had a connection?

Snape had thought his estimation of the boy could get no lower, but the apparent failure to comprehend simple - admittedly shocking - information...? Clearly the boy was more mentally deficient than he had given him credit for.

"It means..." Snape had to pause for a breath before he could force the words through his constricted throat. "It means that I'm your father, and you're my s-son."

Harry looked a little exasperated - sure, he had asked a stupid question, but surely Snape should have been able to read the subtext and realise Harry wasn't meaning exactly what he asked! Taking a deep breath, he tried again. "I understood that sir, I just wanted to know if knowing this changed your hatred for me. I can understand those feelings though, I mean it's not like I'm smart enough to do well in your class..."

The boy's words inadvertently struck home with Severus, and before he could stop himself he flinched, thankfully keeping the reactive action small enough that most people would never have noticed it, even if they were looking directly at him.

"You are not lacking in intelligence, from what the other staff say, just lacking the ability to read ahead and the motivation to do your homework earlier than the night before it's due. And for goodness' sake, in the last four years I am sure you have had more than enough opportunities to read the supplementary texts for Muggleborn and -raised students, although why you haven't done so exasperates me...!"

Harry's mouth opened and closed a few times as he tried to process what Snape had just said - had he just complimented him?! Admittedly it was immediately followed by a few insults, but a compliment from Snape? His mind was even more blown than it was a few minutes ago! Clearly his unintentional goldfish impression had grated on Snape's last nerve though, as his next tone was much sterner than it was before.

"Don't just sit there gaping, boy!" The combination of an irritated tone and the demeaning name triggered bad memories for Harry, causing him to flinch - unfortunately his was not nearly as subtle as Snape's, and thus the Professor saw it. "Here's a hint - close mouth, engage brain!"

Harry seemed to gather his nerve after a few more speechless minutes, although he was visibly shaken from whatever had been triggered by Snape's unfortunate choice of words.

"What supplementary texts? The only books I was told to get were the same ones as Ron had - we checked! And maybe Hermione had the ones you're talking about, but as she has so many extra books we never ask her about extra ones, 'cos we don't want to stuck being lectured about how we should read more and stuff like that! Plus, Hagrid never said anything about extra books when we were in Diagon Alley." Harry's face was a little flushed, both from the passion he had just shown and embarrassment that maybe he was in the wrong - but he still looked Snape directly in the eye as he waited for a response. And wait he did, because it seemed that for once Snape didn't have a snappy comeback on the tip of his tongue.

In Snape's mind, thought had almost ceased upon this latest influx of information. Clearly Minerva had at least been stretching the truth when she said she had done the initial visit to Potter - and that was putting it kindly! But to send the oaf instead, who was unfailingly loyal to the Headm - Oh, that was it. Dumbledore wanted the boy to rely on him, to see him as his saviour, much as any abused child would of the first person to take an interest in them and remove them from the abusive situation, no matter that he kept sending the child back. The old fart was clearly a lot more manipulative than Severus had thought!

"So you never received the list of supplementary texts, and the first person you meet from our world goes on and on about how great Dumbledore is - and no doubt also continuously slandered Slytherins as all being 'evil'. Well, P-Harry, we have at least a few misconceptions to correct. We, the staff, were told that you were being brought up in the Muggle world so that you were unaware of your fame and free of the pressures it would inevitably bring, but that you were being spoilt and treated like a prince. Clearly, that's the first piece of misinformation distributed by the meddling old fart!" Seeing the - no, Harry, he was his son - seeing Harry look confused, he hastened to explain a bit more.

"Dumbledore," unable to stop himself spitting the name, "told us you were brought up being spoilt and treated better than Draco Malfoy, and told me privately that you were also a bully - no doubt playing on my hatred of such persons. He told me that I would most likely be the only staff member who would not be distracted by your fame, and thus I was to treat you badly in order to keep your ego deflated as much as possible. Clearly, he was spouting rubbish - including when he told me that you had been brought up being tutored about our world, which would normally include at least basic instruction in every subject, including writing with a quill and Potions. Thus when you arrived and could not answer a single one of my questions - all of which were discussed in the supplementary texts - I believed you were content to coast by on your fame and put no effort into your education, which was backed up by your chicken scratch handwriting. I can see now that this was wrong, and I am ... sorry."

Snape looked like he had swallowed a whole basket of lemons by the last word, which amused Harry, but it also looked like he meant it. Merlin, would the shocks never end - first Snape is his father, but now he actually apologises - and means it?! Harry felt like this was all a very surreal dream, probably a result of him banging his head as he passed out.

"No, P-Harry, this isn't all a strange dream," Snape remarked, and was that a smirk of amusement? Clearly Harry had unknowingly been speaking out loud - oh no, was he doing it again now? He felt his face burn in embarrassment as his gaze dropped until he could look no higher than his own knees, unable to look at Snape in case this - could he call it kindness? - had ended and he had gone back to being the snarky git of the dungeons.

"Oh, well then, I... forgive you I guess? You know, for all the stuff you just said. Besides, it's not like it's all your fault - Dumbledore was the one who told you information that was completely wrong. And you never treated me as badly as..." Harry's voice quickly faded to silence, not wanting to admit anything about how his 'family' treated him, despite what Snape might already know from the scans he had done.

Snape sighed heavily and turned so that he could face Harry fully, going so far as to slow move his hand towards the boy's chin so that he regarded Snape fully in return. "P-Harry, from the health scans I know that you were abused by whomever the old fart placed you with. Believe me when I say this is not the end of this discussion, but for now we have more pressing matters. Such as catching up lessons so you are where you should be for your age, and learn skills that are taught to toddlers in the magical world - and rest assured, I will employ the help of Lucius to ensure your custody is removed from whoever holds it now, and placed with me." Harry flinched at the thought of Malfoy - after all, it was only about eighteen months since the elder Malfoy had been furious at him for freeing Dobby.

 

Snape immediately gentled his tone - as much as he could, not that it was a lot, but still. "I believe though, that first you should get some sleep. A lot has happened today" - and wasn't that the Merlin-bedamned truth! - "and I'm sure you need time to process it all, much as I do. But before we retire, know this P-Harry: I will claim you as my son, and you will never again be returned to those who would so abominably abuse a magical child." Snape looked so solemn as he finished that tears welled up in Harry's eyes, both from the emotional rollercoaster of the day and the amount of relief currently flooding him at the thought of never having to go back to Privet Drive. Snape nodded shortly, as if his thoughts were confirmed by the sheen of tears now visible in the youth's eyes, then looked to the ceiling. Wait, what?

"Great Lady, would you be so kind as to do me the favour of creating a room within these chambers for my son? I have no wish for him to return to the Lions presently, as most assuredly they are waiting to pounce on him."

Harry was bemused and baffled - who was Snape talking to? Passing it off as a tiredness-induced hallucination, he merely stood when Snape indicated for him to do so, trailing the Professor as he was led to a room; surely that door hadn't been there before? But then Harry hadn't exactly spent time looking around... Oh well. He could figure it out in the morning.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies I hope you enjoyed your week!! :) I'm just going to drop this chapter off, and run have lots of homework to get done :* much love to you all   
> Demon~~

It was disorientating, to say the least, for Harry upon waking the next morning; still half-asleep, he was confused as to why he was waking up in a new place, with new smells and sounds, something that he was not used to after having slept in very few places in his life. He sat up quickly, coming to full awareness as everything came rushing back from the day before; how could this happen to him? Hadn't he had enough drama in his life already? Why could he never catch a break? Here he was, having hoped for a nice easy year, wanting to let someone else do all the dangerous stuff for once, and not only did he get put into a tournament that had previously claimed lives, he had also found out that his whole heritage was a lie! That he was not the son of James and Lily Potter, that this whole time he didn't need to be at the Dursley's, that those blood wards were yet another damn lie. The whole time Harry had been at Privet Drive, Voldemort could have come at any moment to kill him, or even one of his pet Death Eaters could have done the job. The Headmaster must have known about this, but he didn't do anything to help, instead perpetrating the lies and denying him the chance to know his still-living parent; it was becoming clearer that Harry was nothing more than a pawn in this Merlin-forsaken war. For someone raised to hate lies as much as Harry was, he sure did have to unravel a lot of them.

Harry felt tears well up in his eyes at the mere thought that he had been cruelly deprived of his real family, just to keep a lie believed as the truth. Did Snape know? Did Snape know that he was his son, and do nothing about it? Is that why the Professor hated him, because he was nothing more than a disappointment, just like the Dursley's always said he was? Harry took a deep breath, not wanting to believe these dark thoughts, but he was unable to shake them because they were hauntingly truthful, at least to the teen. He brought his knees to his chest, resting his head on his knees as he wrapped his arms about himself in the only form of a hug he had known until the age of 11. Slowly relaxing in the position which had brought his only comfort for so long, he let the tears come, silently expressing the grief that he was never wanted anywhere he went, that nobody truly loved him.

That is how the Potions Master of Hogwarts came to find the Boy-Who-Lived, the Golden Boy, his son, that morning. His face hidden, his body shaking, and if someone listened closely they could hear the almost-indiscernible hitches of breath that indicated crying of the sort that was only produced when the person in question was completely distraught. The older wizard was at a loss as to what he could possibly do - crying children were not nearly his strong point! - and it made matters worse that this was his son that was crying. Internally wondering why these strange things always happened to Harry, Snape did the first thing that he could think of: he sat on the bed next to his son and put his arm around the child, feeling a twinge in his heart at the unmistakeable stiffening of the boy at the comforting touch.

Harry removed his face from his knees to see the keen eyes of Severus looking down at him; quickly he took the too-long sleeve of his shirt and began wiping the evidence of his weakness from his face. "I'm sorry sir," came his quiet voice.

"What do you have to be sorry for Harry?" Severus asked his son frowning, there was no shame in crying, especially after the day the boy went through yesterday. Most others his age would have lost control of their emotions that night, and in a much more attention-seeking way than Harry had done.

"For crying sir," Harry replied, knowing that crying earned him nothing but a beating. He learned from an early age that weeping was for the weak and only brought him more scorn and derision - to say nothing of the physical ramifications - so he long ago taught himself not to cry, until now.

"Harry there is no shame in crying, most people your age would have lost it sometime last night," Severus explained, trying to tap into his previously-unknown comforting skills. "Go ahead and cry, your life just got turned upside down once again." Pulling the teen closer without consciously thinking about it, finding unexpected comfort in holding his son. Harry tensed at first but eventually relaxed into the older man's embrace, seeking the comfort his Professor - no, his father - was offering him.

Severus pulled back from the embrace a while after Harry had stopped crying, conjuring a handkerchief from somewhere and using it to finish cleaning his son's face, much as a parent would do for a much younger child, to Harry's embarrassment. The teen sat in shock at how short a time it took Snape to start treating him like a normal human being - or dare he say, start treating him like a cherished son - rather than one of the most hated children in the school.

"Sir?" Harry ventured cautiously, unsure that this new mood would last. "W-Why are you acting s-so kind now? I would understand if you didn't want a Freak like me as a son." Harry spat the word 'freak' like it was a poison he had to get off his tongue as quickly as possible; after all, he thought that was his name until he went to school at the age of five. Even now he still loathed the word, but despite the hatred for it, the word also held fear whenever it was spat at him by his relatives - no, they were no relatives of his, not after the recent revelations.

"Harry, why would I think you are a freak? You are my blood, my son, and I am upset with myself for not knowing, for not fighting to stay with your bearer, for giving up without a complete picture of what had happened that night," Severus said, thinking back to the night that ruined the happy years he and James had spent together, only to be torn apart by Lily. How could they have let such a conniving girl get between them?

"What happened?" Harry asked, wanting to know why everyone thought Lily was one of his parents, wanting to know more about his father and bearer's lives together, ultimately just wanting to know what led to him being left at that house.

Severus sighed, knowing it would be best to tell his child what had occurred between he and James, so as not to think that he had simply been abandoned. "Harry, my child, I want you to know that I knew nothing about the possibility that you were mine, that I would never leave my son to be raised by someone else when I am perfectly capable of looking after him myself. If I had known that you were mine, I would have loved you with all my soul since the day your bearer told me about you."

Harry once again felt tears come to his eyes as a large weight seemed to lift off his chest at the thought that someone did want him after all. With another sigh Severus continued on with the sad story - one of heartbreak, dishonesty, and betrayals; one where lies and secrets ended with a bonded pair being forced apart.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks! Thought it was time I posted again, instead of leaving it to my lovely co-writer xD not much to say really, but enjoy!

"James and I hated each other on first sight, him loathing the scruffy half-blood who went to Slytherin, where I returned the feeling because of his treatment of me. We were much like you and Draco are now," Severus said with a fond smile thinking back on the past.

_"Oi Snivellous! What, your fairy godmother come through at last? Only cos I think those stupid trousers have only got one hole in them, not like the last pair which had more holes than material!"_

_"Bugger off Potter, don't you have some more stupid gold balls to catch or something? Or better yet, do try and fill that empty head of yours with some of the knowledge to be gained at this school!"_

"But unlike you and my godson, our mutual hatred turned to attraction somewhere around third year. Without telling anyone, we began a relationship, keeping it secret from all but our most trusted confidants - Lupin for your bearer, and Lucius for myself."

_"Lucius, I'm... I think I'm in love with the insufferable boy," Severus sighed, fear swimming faintly in his eyes which reflected the candlelight of the dimmed Slytherin boys' dorm._

_Lucius just smiled. "I'm happy for you, Severus. You are truly my brother in all but blood, and of late Narcissa and I have been worried about the darkness which is sweeping over the House, and seeming to concentrate around you..."_

"James stood by me as I joined the Dark Lord; not completely agreeing with the ideals of either side he chose to stay neutral in the conflict. We got bonded not long after leaving Hogwarts, Lupin and Lucius the only people there other than myself, James and the officiant."

_Severus' throat seemed to close as he watched his James walk towards him on their bonding day, the day he would officially become "his" James. He was stunning in a deep blue robe, which parted as he walked to reveal an inside pattern of silver and forest green - the inverse to his own robe. Contrary to popular belief Severus didn't always wear black. And not long after the ceremony was over, he found himself wearing nothing at all..._

"Things seemed to go smoothly for the next couple of years, despite the pressure our differing opinions put on the relationship. Then, in October 1979, I returned from a meeting with the Dark Lord to find James gone - all of his belongings had been moved from the house; I could find no trace that he had ever lived there. Confused, I apparated to near him (we had location spells in our bonding bands) to find myself in a bedroom, my James in bed with Lily" spitting the name he had once held so dear "sprawled over him, both their chests heaving with recent exertion."

_Severus' own chest heaved as he landed heavily back in their home - how could James have done this to him? Where was the big heart of the boy he had fallen in love with? When researching for their wedding vows, James had firmly vetoed all with fidelity charms woven into the magic - was this why? Had his beloved husband been sleeping with that hussy back then, even when they were planning their future together...?_

"I needed to see no more - I apparated away and spent the next four days drunk out of my mind. When I woke up sober and was working on getting drunk again, Dumbledore came to see me, informing me that James and that harlot were to be married that day." Severus paused for breath, looking down at his son to see his reaction to the story so far. He quickly became lost in his memories of what those horrible few days were like...

_Severus was alone in his marital home, once again hungover but still working on a new bottle of Firewhisky instead of the Sober-Up potion that would be more suitable. He couldn't understand why his beloved James would cheat on him with that little hussy Lily Evans - they hadn't argued or had any problems recently, although James had been a little off-colour in the past few weeks, he had just waved it off as a persistent stomach bug. His mournful musing was interrupted as an unexpected - and heartily unwelcome - visitor stepped from his Floo. Dammit, hadn't he blocked the damn thing?!_

_"Severus, my dear boy, whatever is the matter? This is a day for celebration! Your beloved Lily is getting married to the boy who always wanted her; I know it might be a sore point, because of his and his friends' youthful pranks against you, but surely you have overcome it by now? Cheer up, this is a happy occasion!"_

_Severus was relieved when the old fart left, he didn't want to think about his beloved Lily getting married to Potter - wait, why did something feel wrong about his emotions when it came to those two? Severus tried to pin it down, but there was nothing to be found except a strange niggling of 'wrongness' when his thoughts turned to how much he loved Lily and loathed the spoilt brat that was known as James Potter._

Shaking his head to clear it of his memories, Severus focused on his son's face again. Merlin, he would never be able to get enough of saying that - his son, he had a son! But this latest memory revealed exactly who had stolen his chance of knowing his son sooner - that meddling old fool known as Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Clearly his shock at the revelation showed on his face, belying his Slytherin mask, as his son spoke up.

"Snape? ... Um, I mean, sir? ... Um, what should I call you now?" The newly onyx eyes bore into those of his sire, confusion and a bit of sheepishness written in the younger.

Severus quickly shook off the lingering shock in order to answer his son. "James and I only had a brief conversation about what any potential children would call us, so we wouldn't have to worry it about it if and when the situation did arise. James always wanted to be Daddy, and I would very much like it if you would call me Father? Or maybe, if you're more comfortable with it, Papa?" If one looked closely into Severus' eyes at that moment they would have seen the deeply-buried desire for his recently-found son to call him the latter.

"Okay ... papa. What made you look so shocked before I spoke?" Returning to the original question, which Harry was desperate to know the answer to - in the four years he had known the professor, he had never seen the man's mask broken so many times as it had been in the last 24 hours. The professor's face immediately twisted into anger at the thought of the bloody Headmaster; feeling Harry flinch minutely dimmed that anger in favour of concern for his son - he would kill those bloody Muggles for ever daring to touch his child with anything but love!

"Shh, Harry, I didn't mean to scare you child," cuddling his son a bit closer to back up his words. "My anger wasn't at you; it was directed at the bloody Headmaster, for he must have spelled me during that brief conversation. He referred to that hussy Evans as my "beloved Lily" and mentioned the pranks that James and his friends played on me in school - and it seemed as though all I could remember were the mean things he had done, leading up to stealing the woman I thought I loved. Dumbledore must have done something to confuse my feelings for the two, because that is the only explanation I have for how I forgot so much of my true past... And I fear that his manipulations didn't stop there..."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies! Demon here xD sorry for not being around last week. As most of you guys know I am a college, and last week was just plain awful. So many exams that I had to do, and I'm pretty sure I failed one, but ohh well~~ I hope you guys had a better week than I did, but if not I do hope chapter 9 will at least make it better. I also want to give a big thank you to everyone! We are almost to 200 kudos! :) that is awesome thank you so much for all the comments and Kudos, it's what keeps us going. Love you guys, and thank you once again. Enough rambling from me I will let you get to the chapter while I head back to bed!

“What do you mean?” Harry asked his newly found Papa, does that mean whatever the headmaster did to his dad and papa was still happening to this day? Harry thought about it, he was placed in a home without love, where he was beaten, starved, and forgotten; but no matter how he pleaded, he always had to go back. It was strange how much power the Headmaster held over him, making decisions about Harry without any regards from anyone else. Most times if a child was orphaned the power over guardianship did not rest with a schools’ headmaster, but with the wills and the ministry. So why then does the headmaster have power like that to make life choices for the Boy-Who-Lived.

Severus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “the headmaster has been at stuff for years, meddling with people lives. Sadly, we weren’t the first ones this happened to, and certainly not the last. The headmaster wants people to believe that everything he is doing is for the greater good, that he is the leader of the light. But, in reality, he is just another power crazed wizard looking for more people to put under his control and will not stop at nothing.” Severus looked down at his son who sat on his lap, his onyx eyes much like his own; he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face when looking down at his son.

“P-Papa,” Harry said in a small child like voice, feeling very vulnerable, “What are we going to do? I-I mean with everything coming to light and with my new appearance I can’t just waltz back into the lions’ den.” Harry said in fear of what would happen, would the headmaster step in once more and take him away from his Papa, to send him back to those awful people who hated him.

Severus place a soft kiss to his son forehead knowing where his thoughts were heading, “don’t worry we have work to get done before lunch,” Severus said casting his gaze over to the clock sitting on the mantel of his fire place. _8 o’clock perfect he must be awake_ Severus thought with a grin, he took Harry of his lap and placed him beside him. He picked a pinch of Floo powder and called out, “Malfoy Manor.” Harry gasped unsure if involving the Malfoy’s in such things like this, especially what he did to Malfoy Senior back in his second year. He tried to make himself as small on the couch as possible, not wanting to be seen by the other man, in fear of what he would do once he found out that he was Harry Potter.

It was just a moment late before a answer came through the fire place, “Severus do you have an idea of what time it is,” a grow came from ever stoic Lucius Malfoy, “I was hoping for a day to sleep in.”

Severus was not deterred by his friends, knowing that he was already awake, but didn’t want to do any work just yet, “I have good reasons Luc, I would like you to step through so we can explain everything that unfolded last night.” This intrigued the older Malfoy, knowing that his friend would not come fire calling at this time in the morning without a good answer.

“Alright I will step though, but if you do not have good reason, I will hex your arse into next week, from pulling me away from my home this early in the morning.” Lucius said, Severus just smiled at his old friend before stepping away from the hearth. It was just a moment later, when the red organ flames, turned a deep emerald color. Out step the notorious blonde headed aristocrat of England’s Wizarding World. He was wearing a deep green colored rode that was lined with a mercury silver on the inside, unlike most cloaks that draped all the way to the floor; Lord Malfoy’s ended at his waist a raven tail in the back, showing off his black leather pants he wore with the cloak.

“Alright Severus star-“Before Lucius started demanding answers from his friend, he notices Harry sitting on the couch trying to look as small as possible, “Severus,” Lucius starts not taking his Silver eyes off of Harry thinking that if he did he would disappear, “Why is there a child that looks exactly like you sitting on the couch?” Lucius knew something interesting would happen, but this more than just interesting it was mind boggling.

Severus just smirked at his old friend, “This Lucius is my son.” Not wanting to give too much away liking that Lucius was clueless which didn’t happen that often.

“b-but I thought, I thought,” Lucius took a breath to compose himself and to think everything over, “So let me get this straight this is your son,” Severus nodded, “and you haven’t been with any beside Potter,” Once again Severus nodded, “that means your son is really Harry Potter The-Boy-Who-Lived,” Severus was now smirking at his brother in everything except blood. “So that means, James did not cheat on you,” Lucius said putting all the puzzle pieces together. “but what happened for all this to come to light? There must be a reason of why it happened now, most of the time charms as strong as what was placed on young Potter would only dissipate by the time he came into his magical inheritance.”

At this Severus gave his friend a sad look, “Harry has been place into the Tri-Wizarding tournament, causing magic to be released now in consideration that he is now an adult. But we will work on that later Luc, right now the real problem will be being that with this change Harry is in trouble with the Headmaster claiming his guardianship over my son. If we don’t fix this before he finds out, that means he can take my son away from me again!” Severus could not let this happen, he was already saddening that he had to miss his son’s childhood, which was much like his own. It was even worse to learn that his bonded didn’t leave him for the Hussy Evans, he even had him a son for him! Yet how could Severus forget so much about his beloved how could he start to truly hate the person who had his heart. This is what devastated Severus that he had lost so much thanks to the Headmaster and only from here could he start gaining it back.

Harry looked sadly over at his Papa, almost forgetting that Lord Malfoy was standing just right there, he stood up weakly from his spot on the couch a walked over to his Papa. Without a second thought that this person use to hate his guts, wrapped his frail arms around his Papa wanting to give him the strength he needed to get everything done that needed to get done. Severus let out a small gasp feeling to comforting hug from his son, and soon wrapped his own arms around the boy, a swell of love warming his cold heart.

Lucius looked on at his bother knowing exactly what he was doing blaming everything that the headmaster has done to this small family on himself, forever believing that crazy coot. He could not stop the smile on his face as he watched the younger wizard walked over to his Father, showing that all was forgiven of him, and that only now was what mattered. “Alright Severus we will start making sure that the headmaster can never interfere with you or your son again,” already accepting that Potter his brother-in-law would never leave Severus on his own if he knew he was with a child, “we will go to the goblins first to see what actions Potter took place. Knowing him, he knew something like this was happening, but in his power and position could do nothing to tell you. And with his Will sealed that means there are more secrets taking place, that Dumbledore does not want us to know.”

Severus just gave his son one final squeeze before releasing him to turn toward his friend, “Thank you Luc, for helping.” Lucius just gave a smile before turning to the fire.

“Well don’t just stand there, we must get going now before the headmaster takes the first step!” With that Lucius disappeared into the flames, ready to fight anything and everything to give his brother the family he deserved.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm so sorry this chapter is late, due to my phone deciding to be annoying I didn't get the email from my lovely co-writer asking me to post until just now (even though Demon sent it 10 hours ago!) and a lot has been happening where I live so I completely forgot of my own accord... So I'm really sorry, but here is the new chapter! I hope you enjoy it! :)

Severus inwardly grinned at his friend's impatience - for Merlin's sake, his son was still in his pyjamas! Well that was one thing that was easily fixed; with a wave of his wand Severus transfigured Harry's clothes into a smart/casual robe, one that was almost identical to his own, just smaller. Severus got angry again at the reminder that his son had not been cared for properly, but shook it off in favour of ensuring the meddling old fool could not take his son from him again.

"I assume you know how to Floo?" he asked his son, not wanting him to get lost. Harry nodded, his lips almost disappearing in his anxiety about the hated method of travel. Severus noted this, but chose not to address it right then - he always carried at least one Anti-Nausea potion when Flooing, as it had a tendency to turn his stomach, apparently something his son had inherited. "Okay. We're going to Gringotts, so make sure you enunciate clearly 'Gringotts Main Hall'. I will be right behind you, and Lucius should already be there waiting for you." Harry nodded grimly, not looking forward to the journey but knowing it was necessary. With a grateful look at his Papa for holding the Floo powder container down for him - he hated being so short! - he took a generous pinch and entered the fire, quickly spinning out of sight.

* * * * Page Break * * * *

Harry was immensely grateful that his Papa wasn't too far behind him, as his stomach spun horribly upon his stumbling exit of the Floo. But it seemed his Papa had predicted this - as he stepped gracefully out of the fireplace, he held out a potions vial to his son, watching him down it thankfully before looking around for Lucius. As he'd expected, he was standing not too far from the Flooing fires, looking aloof to anyone who didn't know him well. Severus took the empty vial back from his son, putting it in one of his numerous pockets before taking his son's shoulder and guiding him over to his long-time friend.

"Ah, there you are," Lucius said, not speaking to loudly or mentioning a name for fear of drawing unwanted attention to the trio. "I've managed to secure us a meeting with Griphook, your son's family manager, in a private office so that we may speak of confidential matters. He has sent another goblin -the one standing by the pillar near us, if I'm not mistaken - to guide us to his office once all of us had arrived." As Severus nodded his understanding, Lucius went over to the goblin he had mentioned, waving Severus over when it became clear that he was indeed sent to guide the trio to where they were needed. After a short walk, the goblin knocked sharply on a door, opening it and having a brief conversation in Gobbledegook with the occupant before waving the three males in.

As Harry entered a goblin's office for the first time, he was taken aback at how many weapons were on display! It seemed that every wall was showcasing many different weapons, but upon closer inspection Harry realised that between the weapons were impressive tapestries or discreet bookcases - obviously the goblins placed importance on objects other than weapons too.

"Ah, young Mister Potter. I am Griphook, the Potter family's estate manager. We have been wanting to talk to you for a while, regarding your parents' Wills. Please, come in and have a seat - you too, Lord Malfoy, Master Snape," came the gravelly voice of the goblin behind the desk, a piece of furniture that was easily overlooked due to its simplicity in an office that seemed geared to impress. The three men quickly took their seats, Harry bookended by his Papa and his Papa's friend. Hopefully this meeting would clear up a lot of issues, and ensure Harry would always be able to stay with his Papa.

But first Harry had one important question. "What do you mean, you've been wanting to talk to us for a while? Nobody ever mentioned it to me, not even you and the other goblins when I was here before!" Severus and Lucius inwardly winced, one did not speak to the handlers of their money in that tone - not unless they wanted to suddenly lose a lot of their wealth!

"Mister Potter, I will overlook your impertinence this once, but please remember I am not your enemy," Griphook stated calmly. Harry immediately looked contrite; he hadn't meant to get mad, he was just fed up of constantly having to unravel various lies. "Now, as to what I meant, what I said summed it up quite nicely, however I will elaborate. Since your 11th birthday we goblins have been trying to get in contact with you via owl post; we have received no letters from you in response - instead, we would get a line or two from Albus Dumbledore stating that you are too busy. We would have believed this if not for the way you were so closely guarded whilst in our bank; am I correct in saying that you do not have your key?"

Harry nodded, a little confused at what the Headmaster had to do with all this. Griphook bared his teeth in a bloodthirsty grin; for too long he and his brethren had wanted to take the fool Dumbledore down a peg or ten - and it seemed that this young wizard in front of him was the start of how they could manage it. The goblin quickly got back to business - the sooner they started, the sooner Dumbledore would be punished for his sins.

"Mister Potter, I am going to ask you a few questions. The answers may be obvious to you, but I ask you to answer them anyway. Do you understand?" Harry nodded. "Good. First of all, do you know anything about the hierarchy of our world?" Harry responded in the negative, much to the horror of his two human companions: every magical child who was Heir to one of the Noble Houses of their world was told about it when they were eleven, regardless of whether they had been tutored in things like etiquette and law or not. But apparently whoever was Harry's magical guardian had neglected this; both men knew there was likely worse to come as well.

"All right. Have you ever received a statement about the Potter vaults and their inventory?" Again, the response was a negative. The two adults in the room were getting more and more worried, although their Slytherin training held true as none of it showed on their faces. "And finally - do you know who your magical guardian is?"

The look on Harry's face said it all for the goblin to read, but the boy answered verbally anyway. "As far as I know, the only guardians I have are my aunt and uncle..." He trailed off, shooting a wary look towards his Papa as he hadn't wanted him to know who he had lived with, but knowing that it was important to answer the goblin's questions fully.

"Very well, young Mister Potter. What seems to have occurred is a certain old man sticking his nose where it doesn't belong, and apparently thieving as well - which we certainly do not tolerate!" Griphook smiled a bloodthirsty grin again, seeming to bare even more teeth than before. Harry looked confused once more, so the goblin hastened to explain more. "Your magical guardian is currently one Albus Dumbledore," this information getting groans of disbelief and irritation from the two adults, "and according to the records of the Potter vaults, he has been removing moneys and other items since he became your magical guardian on the 1st of November 1981."

"How could this have happened?" Severus burst out, unable to hold his indignation in longer. "Which goblin oversaw the accounts at that time? What happened to my James' Will? How could this go on for thirteen years?!"

Griphook raised an eyebrow slightly at the Potions Master's outburst, but given the highly emotional topic he let it slide. "James Potter's Will was sealed by Albus Dumbledore on the same date he became young Mister Potter's magical guardian. Lily Evans' Will has no bearing in regards to Mister Potter, as she was not related to him or a legal guardian in any way, and as such we will ignore it for now. As for how this was able to continue for such a long time, I have only recently become the Potter manager; before this it was another of my clan who was recently beheaded for his dishonesty in dealings with another of our clients. I have not yet had time to go through all the information, but rest assured I will be taking a very long hard look at everything once our meeting is concluded. But judging from your obvious surprise, this is not what you came here about today. So, gentlemen, what may I help you with?"

Lucius quickly spoke up, knowing that his expertise with the goblins would come in useful. "Firstly, we came to file a change of guardianship, both magical and Muggle, due to revelations which recently came to light. That was all for now, but after hearing what you have said about the state of the Potter estate, I believe we would like information on exactly what has been stolen, when, and by whom. I think we would also like to know who has profited from these thefts, whether indirectly or directly, and I am sure we will want the return of all funds and items, with interest charged, and penalties for any damage to the items." Severus and Harry looked a bit baffled at the sheer amount of formal talk coming from Lucius, but they trusted him to know best in this situation - even though Harry didn't generally trust Lucius Malfoy as far as he could throw him, he could admit that in this sort of scenario he was the best one to speak for the three of them.

"All right gentlemen, let's get started. Before we can file a change of guardianship, we must do an Inheritance parchment to ensure that nothing is amiss," Griphook stated as he quickly pulled various things out of assorted drawers - what looked like a bunch of different crystals, shallow bowls, parchment, things like that. "Mister Potter, as I assume you are the one whose guardianship will be changed, I will need you to use this knife," handing it to Harry, "to slice across your palm. You must then let your blood drip into this blue crystal until it changes colour. Do you understand?"

Harry looked to his Papa in order to gather his courage before nodding and slicing his palm as directed. Blood quickly began to drip down onto the blue crystal, which thankfully didn't take long to change to a murky purple colour. Severus healed his son's hand and Vanished the excess blood, including that which clung to the blade; Griphook smirked at the elder wizard antics - he seemed to know how powerful blood was in both of their cultures - as the goblin placed the changed crystal into a shallow bowl, pouring a transparent potion over it. The potion seemed to leech the colour from the crystal; when all colour had drained from the now-transparent stone, Griphook removed it and poured the remaining potion over a sheaf of paper. It formed into a sort of birth certificate, confirming who Harry was and detailing who his parents, godparents, magical guardian etc were.

"All right Mister Potter, it appears that everything is in order. Due to one of your biological parents being alive, it is very easy to file a change of guardianship. If you wish for it to be officialised sooner, you will need to go to the Ministry of Magic after we have finished here." Griphook was placing some documents in front of Severus, who simply handed them to Lucius to read - there was no way he would understand the legalese they were written in. When Lucius had read them, and explained their basic contents to Severus, the latter signed them quickly, handing the quill to Lucius for him to sign them as witness. And with that, Harry could no longer be taken away from his Papa - well, once they had filed it with the Ministry of Magic. Griphook took the papers and banished them to the file showing what has taken place before saying, “I will make sure those pesky keys will be changed as well; as for the audit, I will be sending an owl with the list of withdrawals that have taken place over the last 13 years, along with a list of anyone who has gained from the thefts, whether directly or not. If that is all.” The elder wizards bowed to the goblin in thanks of what he was doing. Harry gave Griphook a shy smile and followed the others' lead before following them out of Gringotts to the Ministry of Magic, where they would file the paperwork so he would finally be able to stay with his Papa for good.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies! I hope all of you guys had an amazing week :) I have to say this was my favorite chapter to write I had so much fun playing around with characters :3 I hope that you enjoy this chapter.

It was another horrible Floo trip for young Harry, but this time when stumbling out, he took a face plant on top of the stomach-turning travel. Severus quickly swooped in helping his son stand up, checking for any injuries; with a sigh of relief at only finding the nose piece to his glasses broken, he gave his son the stomach soother and muttered a quick spell to fix his glasses.

“I don’t think I could ever get use to this wizarding travel stuff.” Harry mumbled as he dusted off the soot from the Floo. Both older wizard shared a look with an amused smile, at the younger wizard antics.

“Don’t worry Harry, I have the same problem with the Floo,” Severus answered, he couldn’t help the twitch of his lips when his son looked up at him with a pout. “Alright Harry let’s get this done, so we don’t have to worry about that meddlesome Headmaster.” With that Lucius lead the two other wizards to the elevator.

“We are looking for the Department of Child Services, that is our best bet to fix this problem the lovely Headmaster has put us in,” Lucius explained to the small group.

Harry stepped on the lift and quickly came to hate this as well, unlike the muggle counter-part this lift didn’t just go up and down, it seemed to go in any direction it desired to get to the destination the fastest. Harry was quick to understand that the only wizarding travel he would ever enjoy was flying, as at least while on his broom he had the most control over what happened.

“Department of Child Services” a voice announced as the door opened up; it opened up to a quiet section of the ministry, looking much like a doctor's waiting room. A single witch sat in front of a desk with a stack of paper sitting on one corner, either waiting to be filled out or filed.

Severus took a step to the desk, clearing his throat to get the young witch’s attention, “Good day Madam, I was wondering if the Head of this Department is in this morning, it is quite urgent that we meet up with him today.” The young witch jumped at the sudden noise, unused to people coming into the office to conduct business, everything seemed to happen through owls now a day.

The witch quickly composed herself, “I, think he is, if you give me a moment I will go check to make sure he is available.” She took her chance to flee the room, not wanting to embarrass herself in front of those wizard again, and went to see if her boss was in the office at the moment.

Harry looked around the room, much to his amazement, unlike the rest of the ministry this had a muggle look to it, much like going to the doctor or something like that; it had the complete look with the uncomfortable chairs, as well as the obligatory magazines and newspapers.

An older man came around the corner, along with the witch who took her seat once again at the small desk riddled with papers. The man was plump but friendly-looking, his robes left open showing off his button up shirt and slacks. He had a full head of hair, but it had all gone grey. “Good morning gentlemen!” the man said, cheerfully greeting those in front of him. “How can I be of assistance to you today?”

“We are wanting to change the custody of our young charge at this point in time, there has been a slight miscommunication it seems, and has led to the mishoming,” Lucius stepped in knowing the rights words to say in this moment of time, as well as not saying who exactly the child was. This is when they thanked Merlin for the drastic changes Harry went through, or the secrecy would have been for naught.

The man jumped into action, “We will fix this right away gentlemen! If you follow me to my office, we will start on the paper work, and see if we can get this straightened out!” The man quickly waddled away, with the other three wizards in tow, to a small office. Much like the outside this was just a plain looking office: it had a picture of what looked like the man and his wife with their kids, a couple of filing cabinets, and a small desk with paper and a quill set off to the side. With a wave of the man’s wand three chairs placed themselves in front of his desk, with him taking the one behind it, picking up with quill and making quick work. “Alright gentlemen tell me what is going on, I will write up the report as quickly as possible so we can place this child in the right home.”

Harry felt a little annoyed with being referred to as a 'child', seeing as he was fourteen years old and therefore did not regard himself much of a child anymore; also he was part of the Tri-Wizard bloody Tournament as well! As if sensing Harry’s annoyance with the man, Severus placed a calming hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, before turning and speaking with the man.

“This here is my son, Harry, who sadly was placed with his supposed Aunt and Uncle after the untimely death of his bearer, and that woman who ‘adopted’ him - I should point out that the couple he was placed with bear no relation to him, other than through who everyone thought was his mother. I only recently found out that I have a son, or I would have done this much sooner. I was hoping you would be able to help me get all guardianship stripped away from his current magical guardian, as well as his muggle guardians, in the light of abuse he suffered while under their 'care',” Severus said looking the man dead in the eye.

The man's face grew grim when abuse was put onto the table, “Of course sir, we will try everything in our power to take away those rights, as well as punish those involved if the abuse is proven true - not that I am doubting you or your son, sir, but procedures must be followed. To get this done I would like to see a copy of his birth certificate to verify that he is your son.”

Lucius quickly produce the birth certificate, that they got from the goblins that morning, from his sleeve, and handed it over to the man. “We went to the goblins this morning in light of figuring out what was happening, wanting the access the other guardian had to his vaults revoked, amongst other things.” The man nodded and took the parchment from Lucius and almost fainted, this was the Boy-Who-Lived sitting in his office, but this couldn’t be a lie! If what Mr. Malfoy was saying this parchment he held came from the goblins and was therefore official, since the goblins do not play around with inheritances and people stealing monies from other family lines.

“O-Of course sirs I will be taking care of this right away; as dear Hadrian should not have been placed with those currently in charge of his guardianship, this will be an easy fix. Let me go get his file so that we may remove them from records as his guardians, and if they do try to claim he was rightfully placed with them in a court, we have proof of the mistakes and of the fix that we are enacting right now. Any questions or concerns?”

“None as of this moment sir,” Lucius answered with a small smile. This man had almost let it slip, but caught himself in time before a big deal was made about who the child in question was.

With quick work, the man had all the paperwork needed to complete the actions here today to make sure young Harry did not end up back in the hands of the Headmaster. Along with giving the gentlemen a copy of the paperwork that proved guardianship, and an extra copy to be sent by owl to Hogwarts to show the change to the school, all the work was done and in place.

**_ * * * * Magical Page Break * * * * _ **

With a smirk from the older wizards, the trio was now on their way up to the Headmaster's office with the documents needed to prove of all their handiwork that took place that morning. Now with Harry safely and legally out of the Headmaster's clutches, they wanted him even more secure in this place so that the Headmaster's brainwashing would stay far away from him.

Going up the winding stairs they quickly knocked on the door to the Headmaster's office, and entered when bidden to do so. The two older wizards’ robes flowed around them as they glided into the office, showing off their power and innate nobility. As for Harry, he followed in at a slower pace, not as gracefully as the older wizards but he also had a presence that demanded respect from the headmaster.

“Severus, my boy, Lucius!” the Headmaster started as soon as he saw who entered his office. “I was wondering what had happened to you, Severus; apparently when you dropped Harry off last night he took the chance to take off, I was wondering if you knew where he was,” the Headmaster stated with a disapproving look, “that boy pulled a stunt such as entering this tournament hoping for more love from his adoring fans, yet he took off as soon as his plans did not go the way he wanted them to go.” At this moment Headmaster Dumbledore noticed the younger wizard, looking in his early teens, standing behind the older ones. “And who are you my young boy?” Knowing he has never seen this student before.

Harry spoke before either Mr. Malfoy or his Papa could, for once embracing his Slytherin side. “I am going to be a new transfer student and was sent up here to be sorted, I am truly sorry for this late arrival, but seeing as my Dad has passed away I was sent now to live with my Papa.” Of course, knowing that they were going to do a re-sort anyway, Harry wanted to have a little fun before the Headmaster could stop the action; knowing the Headmaster, he would deny them the approval they needed for the re-sorting. Severus just raised an eyebrow at his son's actions, but said nothing to stop this from happening, wanting to see how the news of Dumbledore's 'Golden Boy' being re-sorted into Slytherin and no longer under the Headmaster's guardianship would come to light.

Albus frowned, not having heard of a new transfer, who almost looked like someone he knew but couldn’t put his finger on who. It must have gotten lost in all of the paperwork needed for the Tri-Wizard Tournament. “Of course child, Fawkes could you be a dear,” he said turning to his phoenix. Fawkes was more than happy to help this to happen, already knowing this child in front of him was Harry Potter; he was not bound to Albus like people thought he was, but more to the castle herself. With a squawk Fawkes fetched the sorting hat and flew to place it upon Harry’s head.

“Mr. Potter, or should I now call you Mr. Potter-Prince-Snape as you have now found out who your true parents are? Are you ready to accept the true house you are supposed to be in, without any arguments this time?” The Sorting Hat asked, amused by what was about to happen.

“Yes, I am ready to be placed in Slytherin, that way I am out of the Headmaster's control,” Harry answered with a smirk, there was no pulling the wool over the eyes of this hat.

The Hat gave a chuckle before stating “Slytherin!” Harry smirked and took the Hat off, placing it on the Headmaster’s desk.

“Congratulations dear boy, and let me be the first to welcome you to Hogwarts. I hope that you have a wonderful time while you are within these hallowed halls. If I may trouble you for your name? So I can inform the house elves, as well as your Head of House who happens to be standing next to you," the Headmaster said.

Harry just smirked, “I should hope that my Head of House knows my name, seeing as I am his son.” The Headmaster paled, this couldn’t be!

Severus' smirk had not left his face since Harry started talking, showing his true colors as a Slytherin at last. “Yes Headmaster, you see someone didn’t take the time to inform me that I had a son staying in the muggle world, a son who was being abused by those supposed to care for him. So, I spent most of this morning doing the paperwork to ensure that I am now his legal guardian, and that he was not to be taken from my care. So, let me introduce you, my _dear_ Headmaster, to my son: Hadrian Severitus Potter-Prince-Snape.” The Headmaster's face at the revelation of Harry's identity was worth all the monies in Gringotts.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! My turn to post this week. This is the much-anticipated reactions chapter! Not much else to say really - RL is kicking my ass right now, so might not be replying to comments and stuff for the next week or so. But yeah, onto the chapter!

Dinner that evening was sure to be eventful; after informing the Headmaster of Harry's real identity and his true House, they had told him they would be taking time to bond as a family and would return to the school's view that evening, in time for the announcement of Harry's name and new House. Now that time was upon them, although sadly Lucius had to miss it - Severus would make sure to let his friend see the memory though. He was currently standing in the small antechamber where the Champions had gone with his son, waiting to be called in; while waiting, Severus couldn't help but think of the enjoyable afternoon he had just spent with his son.

_Upon the revelation to Dumbledore of his son's true parentage and House, Severus knew that he wanted nothing more than to spend time with his son and get to know him as he truly was, not as the man had always seen him. When it came to choosing an activity to help them pass the time, however, he was at somewhat of a loss._

_"Harry?" His son smiled up at him, waiting for what would next cross his lips. "What would you like to do this afternoon?"_

_Harry's smile lit up like the brightest star, and Severus had to look away for a moment lest he be blinded. When he refocused on his son, there was still a wide grin on the boy's face, which was only broken by the necessity of forming words._

_"This might sound strange, but can we make some potions? When I read through the books before my first year, they really interested me, and I think now that we have a better relationship my grades will go up." The last words would have cut Severus to the quick, but the cheeky grin that made a reappearance after them soothed the hurt before it had a chance to form._

_"I.. I would like that very much, my son. It was from my own mother that I developed my love of potions - she could do the most amazing things with the most basic of ingredients..." And before he knew it, Severus and his son were in his private lab, eagerly discussing ingredient interactions whilst brewing a few of the potions that Madam Pomfrey was always requesting..._

Severus came back to the present moment in time to hear his son's name called out from the Great Hall; placing a comforting hand upon his shoulder, Severus and Harry made their way out. They were met by dead. Silence.

"Professor Snape has recently found out he is, in fact, a father," Dumbledore's voice broke the quiet. "Standing next to him is his son, Hadrian Severitus Potter-Prince-Snape, who was sorted into Slytherin this afternoon in my office. He was previously known as Harry Potter, but has requested that everybody call him Hadrian, as that was the name chosen by his true parents." Dumbledore almost choked on the word 'true', but he managed to force it out, and all without losing that damned twinkle in his eyes!

There was a few moments more of silence, before one unfortunate voice broke it.

"What the bloody hell's Harry doing up there with that greasy git?!" Apparently Ron's unfortunate explosion seemed to trigger everybody else's reactions, and within moments the Hall echoed with loud discussions. Ron's continued diatribe against the Potions Master could be heard loud and clear though. "He can't really think he's the son of the dungeon bat, does he? 'Mione, make him see sense! He doesn't belong with the slimy snakes, he's not one of them, he's a Lion, like us! Like his parents were! And I don't mean the dungeon bat!"

Hermione seemed to take her best friend's new appearance, name and House in stride, however she could not withstand the barrage of slander coming out of Ron's mouth.

"Clearly we have all been told something that is, at best, only partially true. You can see his resemblance to Professor Snape, and you know Harry's always been very Slytherin in a Gryffindor way. In fact, he was such an amalgamation of both Houses I'm surprised we didn't just call him a Glytherin!"

"Very well said, Miss Granger. Mister Weasley, 20 points for disrespecting a teacher, and you have detention with Filch for the next week. Do remember that Professor Snape is a member of staff here and deserves your respect, whatever your personal opinion of him." Professor McGonagall, having said her piece, walked away up to the staff table - she had elected to wait until after the announcement to join her colleagues, as she had a feeling that some of her Lions would not take the change well. She had not expected such venom from one of young Harry's closest friends, however.

Ron scowled into his freshly-served food, not wanting to lose any more points or gain another detention - he'd only said what they were all thinking! Harry (and he was Harry, not bloody Hadrian!) belonged in Gryffindor, just like his parents James and Lily Potter. It was that simple to the immature teenager; why wasn't it so clear to everyone else?!

Hermione just ignored the redhead's childish behaviour in favour of sending a smile to Harry, wanting to convey that she didn't agree with Ron and would be friends with him regardless of who his parents were or what House he belonged in. She watched him move down to the Slytherin table - and clearly there had been more changes than just what was visible, as he moved with a grace that would have been foreign to his past self. She nodded, determined to corner her friend and find out the whole story from him.

* * * * Page Break * * * *

"Potter, is this another ploy of the Headmaster? Get one of his pets into Slytherin so you can spy on us for him? Forget it! You're not a true Slytherin, you never will be!" Draco Malfoy was VERY unhappy at this turn of events! Surely he wouldn't be expected to be _nice_ to Potter? He was a bloody scarhead who had done nothing, his Mudblood mother was the true reason he had survived - and he wasn't even Slytherin enough to conceal that fact! There was no way he belonged in the House Malfoy himself was proud to belong to, the House which prized cunning smarts above all else.

"Mister Malfoy," came the silky voice of the Head of Slytherin, freezing the young heir's blood in his veins. "That is my son you are speaking to, and I assure you, this was not the Headmaster's doing. In fact, he would have done anything to stop this all coming to light, hence your father's and my efforts being discreet. If you wish to discuss this further, there will be a House meeting after dinner. Now, I shall leave you to your food - and you better be at least civil to my son, Draco, or godson or not you'll have the same punishment as that fool Weasley!"

Thoroughly shamed, Draco stared at his plate, trying not to let the tears forming in his eyes escape. It had been a while since his godfather had had to dress him down as he had just then, and even longer since it had been in public. He miserably watched Severus stride elegantly towards the top table, inwardly kicking himself for letting his godfather down. So Severus wanted him to be civil to Pott-Hadrian? He would be so damn civil Pot-Hadrian's head would explode!

* * * * Page Break * * * *

Harry was nervous as he sat down in amongst the other fourth-year Slytherins. So, Malfoy's reaction could have been a lot better, but maybe it was up to him to extend an olive branch?

"Ma-Draco?" The Malfoy scion's head snapped up at the familiarity taken by a person so low below him on the totem pole, but his razor-sharp tongue was stayed by his godfather's previous reproachments. "I'd like to apologise for not taking your hand when you offered it in first year. I was reminded of someone I dislike by your behaviour; however, seeing as we'll be sharing a dorm for the next four years or so, I'd like it if we were on better terms."

Well, when phrased like that, Draco would have to be a moron to continue their fights - the last he'd want at the end of a long day was to not feel comfortable in his own dorm-room! "Very well," the heir's taught eloquency coming out in response to Pot-Hadrian's own formality. "We will not be friends, but I am willing to enter a sort of truce. Mind you, this only extends to you, not Weasley and that Mud-"

Thankfully Pansy slapped her hand over Draco's mouth before he could ruin their truce, mere moments after it was agreed. When there came no indication Draco would continue his unfortunate speaking, Pansy retracted her hand and wiped it clean before offering it to P-Hadrian.

"Hello Hadrian, I'm Pansy Parkinson. I would very much like it if we could become acquaintances, if not friends - I agree that it would make things much easier if we could all put the past behind us and continue as if it had never happened. After all, we will be in each other's company for the rest of our schooling, and I for one would not want my impeccable hair or fashion sense to suffer because of tension or hostility between housemates! The one major rule for our House-" She broke off in order to glare at Draco when he opened his mouth, most likely to protest her use of the word 'our', which resulted in his jaw audibly clicking closed. Pansy's glare was almost as powerful as Severus'! "-is that Slytherins stick together. No matter what squabbles we may have with each other, when we are anywhere but our common room we support each other."

Harry took her hand and lightly pressed a kiss against it, as he would do to any female above him in society - or he would do that, now his Papa had made him aware of some of the strict rules society ran by. The afternoon together had been brilliant, but Merlin there was a lot to learn!

"I would very much like that, Miss Parkinson," Harry replied. "And please, do call me Hadrian or Harry."

Pansy simpered a little; it wasn't often boys their age observed the societal niceties. "Thank you Hadrian. Please, call me Pansy, or Pans."

Now that Harry seemed a little more accepted within his House, Severus turned his watchful eye to the rest of the school. He refused to be remiss as a parent any more, and if that meant watching over his son as he integrated into a new place? Well, Harry would just have to get used to it.

* * * * Page Break/Time Skip * * * *

The Slytherin common room was very, very quiet as they all waited for their Head of House to appear and start their meeting. It wasn't even the presence of Po-Hadrian that was making the hush appear; he had gone off after dinner with Snape - and how unbelieveable was it that _Snape_ was Po-Hadrian's _father_? They'd loathed each other since setting eyes on the other! But more than that, Po-HADRIAN - for Merlin's sake! - didn't _deserve_ such an awe-inspiring man for a father! Draco was furiously mulling this over as he sat in his prized position, close to the warmth of the fire but not so close it would become stiflingly hot. This was how he was, when his Head of House finally entered the common room, thankfully alone - Draco wasn't sure how he would handle it if P-Hadrian became their Head of House's personal shadow. The Slytherins immediately straightened up, showing respect in every centimetre of their straight spines.

"All right, my Snakes, I know this is a big shock to all of you. Trust me, it was an even bigger shock when I found out last night. But blood cannot be denied, and my initial tests were backed up when we, my son, Lucius and I, went to Gringotts earlier today. So yes, the boy previously known as Harry Potter is definitely my son. As to his Sorting into our noble House, apparently he was supposed to be here the whole time he was here at Hogwarts - but due to _some_ people," and here Snape broke off to shoot a hard look at his godson. "-he did not want to be Sorted here initially. This means that no matter your opinion, my son _is_ a true Slytherin, and belongs here just as much as the rest of you. Now, are there any questions?"

There were a few minutes' silence as the snakes mulled over the information they had just been given, before one brave fifth-year spoke up.

"Sir, how did you come to find this information? Surely you wouldn't have believed it if P-Hadrian had just told you, so what occurred that made you accept him so wholeheartedly?"

"I would always accept my children, whether they be of my heart as you Snakes are, or those of my blood as Hadrian has turned out to be. As for how I found out, that is a long story..." And Severus settled down into the armchair reserved for him, and began to tell the tale.

* * * * Page Break * * * *

The reason Harry wasn't with his Papa is that after dinner, he had been exiting the Hall when a person with bushy brown hair attacked him in the form of a hug. Knowing that his Papa would be taking some time to talk to his new Housemates, he agreed when she pestered him to tell her all that had happened, starting from when his name came out of the Goblet. They made their way to the Room of Requirement, and after settling in to the comfortable room provided they began to talk.

Finally Harry had finished his summary of events, and he braced himself for the barrage of questions he was sure would fly out of Hermione's mouth as soon as she processed everything.

"So, _Dumbledore_ knew of your heritage? And when you k-killed V-V-Voldemort that night, instead of giving your care to the parent he knew of and was still alive, he gave you to the _Dursleys_? The ones who treat you badly enough that you won't even talk about it?! I'll bloody kill him!" And indeed, the witch seemed as though she was preparing to go to the Headmaster's office and attack him right now! Luckily Harry knew enough after three years of knowing Hermione to calm her down, and soon they were both settled back in their comfortable seats.

"So... How is it? How do you feel, knowing the 'greasy git' - to quote Ron - is your dad?" Hermione asked quietly after a few moments of silence.

"Well, it's certainly not made things any easier, that's for sure! But 'Mione - I have a family, admittedly not a big one but I have someone who cares for me and treats me better than a House-Elf and... I love it 'Mione. By the way, he's not my dad; apparently my bearer wanted to be Daddy, so Snape's my Papa. And Merlin, if you'd told me twenty-four hours ago that those words would ever willingly cross my lips, I'd have asked what you'd been smoking and where I could get some!"

Both teens giggled for a moment, eventually settling down to just enjoy the other's company in peace. They rarely got to spend much time alone together, what with Ron popping up to ask Harry to play chess or distract them from homework, but they were closer to each other than they ever would be to Ron - and his reaction to Harry's parentage had merely confirmed that once again. But for the moment, they were content to just sit there and enjoy the closeness, watching the flames in the fireplace flicker as they were both lost in thought.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey lovelies! I am so sorry this chapter is being posted late. Unfortunately a lot of stressful stuff in happening IRL for me right now (I am going to be sleeping on the streets in a few days if something doesn't get sorted out) and Demon is really busy with school and stuff. So yeah, real life got in the way of posting ontime for this one. But it is here now, so I'll stop going on and let you read it. Hope you enjoy it guys!
> 
> Oh, and the Slytherin House Rules come from the lovely Etherian, who has posted them at https://archiveofourown.org/works/426484 for people to use. So thanks Etherian!

It was very strange for Harry to be waking up anywhere but the Gryffindor tower, but it seemed that here was where it felt like a real home. If he was made to stay with the Gryffindors after things that came to light, whether it was just being chosen as a Champion or being the son of the resident Potion Master, they would have scorned him from the tower; if he was lucky he would have been able to sleep in the common room until after the first Task at the earliest. That was if he was lucky - if not then he would have been banished from the Tower, all of his housemates' backs turned against him.

Things were very different in the House of the Snakes: there were a few who openly hated him, such as Draco; but others extended an olive branch of peace in the hopes that they can put everything behind them and start anew. That is only what happened in the common room; according to his yearmates, things would be different out in the rest of the castle where everyone was against the snakes. Even the most hated person in Slytherin was protected from those in other Houses. What shocked Harry even more, if that wasn’t enough already, a few of the older students had come over and offered their help with the tasks, if and when he needed it. According to them, even though he was low on the Snakes' royalty ranking, he was representing their House, and they wanted him to win.

It was just another thing unlike Gryffindor House - the Slytherin House had a royalty ranking within the house. To help and protect the younger ones, to help teach those who were struggling. It went like this:  
If there was a **Head Boy/Girl** they were regarded as the **King** or **Queen** \- they had the first pick in duels, quidditch times, and had the final say in the rules and who was tutoring who and what subject.  
If there wasn’t a Head Boy/Girl, then the head royalty fell to the **prefects**.  
From there each year had a **prince** and a **princess** , in charge of those in their year (since the prefects or Head could only keep up with so much) - who happened to be Pansy and Draco for his year.  
From there it fell in an order decided by who was close friends with who, who was a protector, and all that fun stuff.  
The only year that did not have a prince or princess was the first year; they had to follow strict rules from the Prefects or another year's Prince or Princess. Of course, those in higher years' word meant more than those in younger years, so if a fifth year student gave you an order over say a fourth, then you were expected to follow the older one's words. One could overthrow the Prince or Princess if one challenged them to a duel; winner took the title. It was all very confusing for Harry as a newcomer, but he would learn as he went from Pansy, or from his Papa.

Another major thing different from Gryffindor was there where so many rules one had to follow:

1\. Your House is your family. **Family stands together**

2\. The common room does not belong to YOU. It belongs to everyone. **Keep it neat**

3\. Arguments with another Slytherin are **only** permitted in Slytherin House. Refer to the **FIRST RULE**

4\. No leaving the Dorms or anywhere **alone**. We are not safe alone, we are **safer in numbers**

5\. Study time is **QUIET** time and is  mandatory. You will receive schedules on a weekly basis

6\. **NOBODY** is allowed to skip House meetings. House Meetings are almost always scheduled

7\. The Hogwarts House Elves are **not** your servants. Keeping your dorm rooms and the common room clean is **your** responsibility

8\. Dorm inspections once a month. These are **NOT** scheduled. You are now forewarned

9\. All meals are mandatory. No sweets in your dorms. **No sweets after 8pm**. Those taking a Nutrition Potion will come to Professor Snape or Madame Pomfrey once a week

10\. Bedtimes:  
First years - 9pm  
Second, Third and Fourth years - 10pm  
Fifth and Sixth years - 11pm  
Seventh years - Midnight

11\. Your House is your family. **Family stands together**

* * * * Page Break * * * *

It was at breakfast Harry figured out most of the rules Professor Snape had set up. Harry was walking with Pansy, who was complaining about his hair and saying how he should have at least attempted to tame it, back before his changes. Harry just laughed at her; he explained to her about all the ways he and his Muggle family had tried to tame the unruly rats' nest. Pansy still insisted that he should have done something with it, and made it her goal to tame the beast - if he still had his Dad’s rats nest of hair, which caused another outburst of giggles from Harry. He just smiled at her after his giggles stopped, telling her how happy he was that he had lost that feature during the changes. It was right outside the Great Hall when this happened, and some Gryffindor happened to be standing right there, or maybe in reality they were laying in wait for their chance to get at Harry.

“Look Dean, who finally showed up,” a very familiar voice said, “Baby Potter.” A couple of laughs came from the remark. It reminded Harry very much of Draco, Greg, and Vince; but this time it was Seamus, Ron, and Dean - boys that used to be Harry's friends and dorm-mates.

“Finally, he shows some courage, showing his face around here. After the stunts he has been pulling. It’s a good thing you changed dorms, I don’t want a **Snake** like you sharing a dorm with me,” Ron said with a sneer Draco would be proud of.

“Hello Ron, or should I call you Weasley from now on?” Harry replied, not jumping at the words like he used to, now playing more of the Slytherin mind games. “I would have said the same thing to you, about sharing a room that is. Who would want to share with someone like you, who snores so loud he rattles the windows? Who turns his back on his friends the moment he doesn’t get attention? Sadly, I had to put up with it for 4 years.” Harry continued with a sigh, “Dean, Seamus, I hoped for better from you two, but seeing as this red headed menace has brainwashed you,” Harry just shrugged, “at least I know some lions who will still talk to me.”

“Brainwashed us?! It's more like you left us, after putting your name in the Goblet to pull more fame towards yourself! But when it backfired you ran away like the snake you are!” Dean said with a sneer, but Seamus looked a little sheepish at what Harry said. He was more following Dean to keep him out of trouble.

Harry just narrowed his eyes at the group of lions. “I’ve had enough, come on Pansy, let’s go.” He held his arm out to the girl, who accepted it, and led her through the doors to the Great Hall. As soon as his back was fully turned, Harry heard someone voicing a spell; with moments to act, he placed Pansy in front of himself to keep her out of harm’s way, and took the brunt of the spell.

There were actually two different spells cast in his direction: the first being a cutting spell causing long vertical cuts down his back, cutting up his shirt as well as damaging his back severely. The second one was a boil curse, causing boils to pop up all over his body. Harry, used to such pain, just let a grunt escape as the initial spells hit him.

“MR. WEASLEY, MR. THOMAS, MR. FINNIGAN, HOW DARE YOU CAST SUCH SPELLS AT A FELLOW STUDENT,” roared Professor McGonagall, as she watched in horror from the head table at what was happening at the doors. When she saw two of her Lions cast a spell when someone's back was turned was revolting, but what made it worse was that the spells were directed at their old housemate. It also seemed like other members of her House felt the same way, as she saw Ms Granger, the Weasley twins and Mr Longbottom stand up from their seats, enraged by what was happening. “Detention for two months all three of you, and a trip up to my office to have a serious discussion with your parents about your actions here today! Ms Parkinson, please take Mr Potter-Prince-Snape to the Hospital Wing to be treated.” Pansy did not need to be told twice, and quickly began to help Harry, careful of where the boils were so as not to pop them and cause more pain. She spied a few of her other housemates planning revenge for the attack on the newest Snake, as well as a few others coming over to help Harry and Pansy and protect them on their way down to the hospital wing.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies, I hope you all are doing good. It almost slipped my mind to post today Ooops. At least I remembered hahaha, I hope you enjoy chapter 14!

Once again Harry had managed to end up in the Hospital Wing - and really, as much as he like Madam Pomfrey, he could do without the frequent visits to her domain.

Having been told by Pansy what had happened, Madam Pomfrey documented the extent of the harm done to Harry before she quickly healed him as much as she could magically: some injuries required time to heal, not just a few spells or potions. "Now dear, no lying on your back until I say so, and you'll need to stay here for the day so I can keep an eye on how the muscles are healing - the cuts were rather deep. Luckily, they didn't hit your spine, or you could have ended up not being able to walk anymore; I hope the perpetrators are severely punished for this!" Madam Pomfrey was outraged that such an attack had happened on one of her favourite students, and hoped none of the attackers had to come see her soon - she couldn't honestly say that she would heal them if that were the case! "Do you have someone to take notes and collect homework for you Harry, or should I ask the teachers to pass it on to me?"

Pansy spoke up from where she had sat down beside Harry's bed. "It's okay Madam Pomfrey, I'll take notes for Hadrian and pick up his homework - any classes he takes that I don't, I'll find another Slytherin to do so. We Snakes look after each other, after all."

Madam Pomfrey smiled at the two; she had been shocked by the events of the past few days, just like everyone else, but it warmed her heart to find that Harry was finally being treated well just for himself - too long she had thought that the youngest Mister Weasley was only his friend for the fame. It seemed clear to her now though, that Harry was finally where he truly belonged.

\--------------------------- PAGE BREAK ----------------------------------

Harry's morning was mostly boring - there were very few activities one could do when lying flat on their stomach, he had discovered. Around third lesson his boredom was finally broken for a while, as he had another visitor.

"Harry!" The silken smooth voice of the Potions Master broke the quiet of the Hospital Wing. "How are you feeling? I only just found out what happened - I had already left breakfast when this heinous attack occurred. I hear they were punished with two months' detention and a discussion with their parents and Professor McGonagall?"

Harry smiled at the worry he could hear, both in his Papa's voice and due to the fact he had spoken a lot more than he usually would about anything other than his beloved potions. "I'm fine Papa, Madam Pomfrey healed me as much as she could, I'm just here so she can keep an eye on me and make sure my muscles heal properly - hence this really boring position! And yeah, that's what McGonagall-" at his Papa's look he quickly amended, "Professor McGonagall said would happen." Harry couldn't stop a flash of bitterness appearing across his face, and his perceptive father picked up on it.

"What is it my child?" Severus had settled on the chair Pansy had used earlier, transfiguring it into something that was more comfortable and at a height Harry could see him. "You don't need to worry about any eavesdroppers; I cast a Muffliato when I entered the Wing."

Harry sighed in relief - of course his Papa would have done something like that, he never took chances when it came to privacy, after all. "What if Dumblefuck tries to get them off punishment early? He clearly doesn't actually care about me, or he would have been to see me already, like he did every other time I've been in here. I don't want them to get away with this, Papa!"

Severus was going to say something about the crude nickname his son had given the Headmaster, but the sheen of rapidly-developing tears across eyes so similar to his own distracted him.

"Shush Harry, shush child. I will make sure that doesn't happen. I'm going to Floo Lucius in his capacity as my solicitor, and ensure he knows about the attack as soon as possible. He will be as outraged as I am, and will want to get the Aurors involved - I am assuming Madam Pomfrey took the necessary scans before she healed you?" Harry nodded as much as he was able to from his prone position. "Good. I'm sure Professor McGonagall and Miss Parkinson would be amenable to giving their memories of what occurred, and you would be too?" Harry gave a look that clearer than words, 'duh!' "Then we have a good case for a criminal suit of assault, assault with deadly intent, and probably about three dozen other things if I know Lucius!" Snape smirked internally as he finally got his son to smile; if you had told him a few days ago that he would care more about Harry Potter's happiness than anything else, he would have either assumed you were an escapee of the Janus Thickey Mental Impairments Ward at St Mungo's, or would have cursed you so badly that you needed to be in that ward. He couldn't deny it though - Harry's happiness was the most important thing. And it would be for the rest of his life.

\--------------------------- PAGE BREAK ----------------------------------

Harry managed to sleep for a while during the afternoon, which he was grateful for as it meant the boredom didn't set in again. He awoke just before dinner as a few Slytherins burst into the Hospital Wing, rushing over to Harry's bed (or getting there as quickly as was possible with their Pureblood masks fully in place). First to reach him was Pansy, closely followed by Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini; the surprise in the back of the group was none other than Draco Malfoy. The girls were asking after him, talking over the top of each other, while the two boys just stood there, faces grim and eyes promising retribution. The talking was interrupted by Madam Pomfrey.

"All right, all of you back away from the bed if you're not going to leave altogether - I need to see how Mister Potter-Prince-Snape's back has healed in order to ascertain whether he can attend dinner in the Great Hall or not!" Immediately all four Slytherins backed off, watching intently: they knew that the likelihood of Madam Pomfrey hurting Hadrian in front of them was very low, considering that she could have done so at any point during the day, but they would be vigilant nonetheless. Nothing would be allowed to hurt the Head of House's son on their watch, or their lives wouldn't be worth living once the Potions Master had finished with them.

"All right my dear, your muscles have healed as much as I was hoping, so you'll be able to attend dinner with your friends! Try not to strain your back, for example carrying a heavy bag shouldn't be done for at least a few more days, but other than that you're cleared to leave. If your back twinges or you feel pain, come and see me, or at least your Papa for a Pain Reliever. Is that understood, Mister Potter-Prince-Snape?" Madam Pomfrey eyed the teen in front of her, knowing by now that he would ignore any pain as much as he was able to - two years ago when that fool Lockhart Vanished all the bones in his arm, he hadn't even made a sound! She had a feeling that with Severus as his Papa, however, that would be changing.

"Yes Madam Pomfrey, I understand. Thanks for healing me!" The teen graced her with a bright smile. "I take it I can move now then?" At the medi-witch's nod he grinned again. "Brilliant! This position is one of the most boring, ever!" Upon saying this, he carefully moved so that he was sitting on the bed, facing his fellow Slytherins. "Hi guys!"

The Slytherin boys just smirked at how un-Slytherin Hadrian was being, while Daphne and Pansy immediately crowded around him, asking how he felt, offering to help with anything he needed for the next few days. The girls even volunteered Blaise and Draco - who reacted with a sneer - to carry his bag for the next few days! Despite their outward indifference, however, everyone in the room was glad their newest Snake was up and about once more.


	15. Chapter 15

Hey guys,

So I'm really sorry this isn't an actual chapter, but I thought it important to let you guys know the following. Demon will most likely remove this on Saturday and replace it with an actual chapter.

The last few weeks have been really near Hell for me. As of tonight I am sleeping on the streets because I have nowhere else to go. Because of this, I don't know when/how often I'll be able to charge my phone, so I won't be replying to comments etc after this post. If I am able to charge my phone I will try to reply to comments, but honestly it's not high on my list of priorities.

Hopefully tomorrow I will have somewhere to stay and will be able to charge my phone, so I will remove this "chapter" if that is the case, but I thought it only fair to let you guys know why I'm going silent for a while.

Hope all of you, and your loved ones, are safe, healthy and happy. Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story, each email I get about kudos or comments warms my heart.

Elli out xxx

UPDATE

Thank you so much for your kind comments guys, they really cheered me up when it felt like nobody cares. I am being kept in a hospital for a few days until the council can find me somewhere to live (I'm in the hospital cos I have mental health issues I won't go into here) so I will be safe! I will have somewhere to sleep and three meals a day provided for me, and the best part is I'm in the UK so it's all free xD

But seriously, you guys are all fucking awesome. To have so many heartwarming comments sent when I was at one of my lowest points means more to me than I can ever express. So have some cookies! *throws a whole bunch of cookies into the air so you can all have some*

Hope all y'all are safe and happy and healthy. Love you guys! xxx


	16. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,
> 
> Just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who commented on my note - the amount of support and positivity really means a lot to me, more so because this has been a really dark week for me.
> 
> In other news, I am not going away for any amount of time, so this story will most likely **not** go on hiatus. I say most likely because although we still have chapters already written, my Muse is not co-operating with the writing of chapter 24 xD
> 
> Anyway, I'll let you get on with the story now! I hope all y'all are safe and happy and healthy. Thanks once again for the virtual love you've shown me over the past week
> 
> Elli xxx

Harry quickly became enamoured with the House of Snakes, embracing the side he had always kept hidden while staying with the Lions. His tongue and wits were quicker to respond, and he had great banters with Draco in the common room, with side comments and sarcasm that left a lot of the Snakes belly laughing on the floor. No Snake would have thought Potter would have fit in so well in their Snake Pit, but like all other Snakes he fitted in quickly and it seemed like he had been with them since his first year.

With all that said and done, the First Task was quickly approaching and there had been no hints whatsoever about it, and the uncertainty had Harry walking on egg shells. Seeing as he was the youngest, and his magical knowledge was lacking, he was spending some extra time with the older snakes seeing what they had to teach him. He quickly picked up on spells that would be useful, if not now, then later on in different tasks. He had picked up on a few higher-level shield spells; he learned a wicked illusion spell as well (which he might have used on Ron, making him see spiders all over him). But all in all he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be looking up and learning; even with such a supportive House behind him, there was only so much knowledge he could gain before the Task.

This was the state of the Boy-Who-Lived's life, until the only Lion that was brave enough to speak with him came up to the group of Slytherins after Potions. The little muggleborn witch came up to the group as they gathered their stuff, speaking about what books they needed to read for the most recent assignment the Potion Master had given them. The snakes quickly stopped talking in the presence of the Gryffindor, unsure of what she would say or do; even after Harry’s reassurance to the group that she was harmless, in their experience there came nothing good from a Lion approaching a group of Snakes.

“Harry can I speak with you… Alone,” Hermione said eyeing all the snakes, feeling her bravery leave her under the scrutiny of their stares as she spoke with her friend.

“I’m sorry Granger, but if you want to speak with him, you need to do so in front of one of us,” surprisingly Draco spoke up, before Harry could agree with going off with the young witch.

With a roll of his eyes, but understanding where the blonde was coming from, with the incident that had taken place not long after finding his true home, Harry replied, “Alright, Pans would you care to join us?” Knowing that the witch could hold her tongue better than the blonde aristocrat.

“Of course, Hadrian, I have some free time before I have to go to my next class,” Pansy replied, even though it was common knowledge that Defense started in two hours' time for them.

Harry smiled at his new friend, “Thank you Pans.” He offered his arm to the witch and gestured with his other for Hermione to take the lead to where she wanted to talk. Hermione led them to a tapestry that disguised the entrance to an abandoned and forgotten hallway, one that had many charms placed on it so no-one could hear what conversations took place there.

“I’m sorry Harry about taking so long to talk to you, but with Ronald taking control of the Den, it has been hard to sneak out,” Hermione said to her friend. Ronald seemed to have turned all of the House against Harry now, except her and Neville who knew more about Harry's true self than his supposed and self-claimed best friend.

“It’s fine ‘Mione, the most important thing is that you take care of yourself, so that you are not targeted because you talk with me,” Harry replied, wanting to make sure that nobody from his old House would hurt her for talking with him.

“I can’t Harry, I promised that I would help, and I am. I just got a big hint of what the First Task is," Hermione said, smiling at Harry, and laughing a little at the small gasp the other witch gave.

“But that isn’t possible, you are a Lion! We are the house known for knowing the secrets in Hogwarts well before anyone else, and none of us have been able to find anything out!" Pansy said, a little peeved that their House couldn’t help their fellow Snake in this circumstance, unlike this Lion could. Annoyed that their House couldn't do anything other than teach him spells to make sure he, at the very least, lived to see the next Task.

“Well I wouldn’t say I exactly know what it is, but listening to Ronald talk in the common room, apparently his brother Charlie is here from Romania for the tournament," Hermione answered the witch.

Pansy just scoffed, not noticing how pale Harry went. “That isn’t much of a hint. So what if his brother is he-“

Harry cut in before Pansy could continue, knowing it was rude, but he needed to be certain. “’Mione, are you 100% sure?” With a nod from the frizzy-haired witch Harry started to shake. “B-but that could only mean...” Hermione looked sadly on at her friend, knowing his thoughts went the same direction as hers did once she got the information. Harry sighed and leaned back against the wall, letting his head rest as he closed his eyes and tried to think of what needed to be done.

“Alright, explain to me what is happening,” Pansy demanded from the two, feeling left out of the loop, and feeling a little helpless as she watch her newest friend seem to lose a certain fight in him.

“Charlie is Ron’s older brother, who is an amazing, sweet person; he has been out of Hogwarts for about 6 years now. Charlie moved to Romania straight after school in pursuit of working on a reserve. And the only well know reserve in Romania houses…” Pansy eyes widen as she thought about what Harry was telling her.

“No! No! Absolutely not! Harry Potter you will not put yourself in such danger!” Pansy shrieked, not wanting endanger her friends’ life. “You will not go face a dragon! That is barbaric and stupid!” There were tears now in her eyes as she thought about what Harry had to do, letting her mask fall due to the sheer amount of fear filling her at what could possibly happen to her friend, the newcomer she had grown so close to.

Harry gave his friend a crooked smile. “Welcome to my life Pans. It’s not a normal year for me until life-endangering adventure is thrown in.” Hermione, who had been letting the other witch yell at Harry, could not hold back a laugh at something so true; she was joined shortly in her mirth by the wizard himself, and even Pansy managed small giggle.

* * * * Page Break * * * *

Both Harry and Pansy skipped their defense class to go straight to the library, for the "first and ONLY time" as Pansy informed Hadrian; they wanted a head start on studying any spells that could protect the Champion from dragons. They knew their fellow Snakes would cover for them, even though they would have no idea what was so important that Hadrian would skip defense, the only lesson that was still useful in the run-up to the First Task.

It was a few hours later when both Harry and Pansy stumbled back into the Snake Pit, both arms filled with books: some of defensive magic, others going over what was known of dragons and some of their weaknesses. Their faces were grim, even with how little they had read, this Task seemed to be impossible, particularly for a student only in his fourth year. The common room was in a panic over their disappearance, the duo not having been seen since just after Potions, so when they stepped in the whole room went quiet, in shock of their sudden reappearance.

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!,” Draco was the first to break the silence that settled through the room, “YOU LEFT WITH THE GRYFFINDOR, AND HAVEN’T CHECKED BACK IN. WE WERE WORRIED, FOR MERLIN'S SAKE YOU COULD HAVE SENT A QUICK NOTE!”

Pansy quickly answered, “She gave us a hint about the First Task, and it's not looking good Draco.” With that the whole room was now watching openly, as the pair set down their books in front of their friends. “The First Task, we believe due to the information Granger gave us, is something to do with dragons.” It was then that the whole room lost colour in their faces. Dragons were rated XXXXX, the highest possible rating, and only trained dragon handlers were permitted to be near them. That night was spent with the whole House reading, strategising and coming up with a game plan, and helping their newest arrival be as prepared as possible for the dangers ahead of him.


	17. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies been awhile since I posted anything hasn't it. :) Happy to report that Elli is doing better, as for myself, I first want to apologize for the delay in posting it today; recently I've been busy with college, and was not able to get on that much for both emails and here, so I wanted to say thank you guys for showing Elli your support during this time, when I was unable to talk to her that much <3 I know that she loves you all and all the support you have shown her. So once again thank you. Also Almost 400 kudos, thank you guys for the support in our writing seeing it makes us soo happy that you enjoy our little story, anyways I'll let you get to the chapter. So once again thank you for all the support <3 and hope you enjoy.

The day of the First Task was finally here, and Hadrian had gone from feeling terrified upon finding out he was to face a dragon, to being slightly confident due to his House's belief in him, to being downright petrified at the thought that he would be FACING A MERLIN-DAMNED DRAGON. The fear sat heavily in his body, making him feel nauseous and chilled. If this was how he felt before the Task even began, he really didn't want to be in this stupid Tournament!

It seemed like one moment he was sitting down for breakfast, and the next it was after a half-day of classes and his Papa was coming to collect him to lead him down to where the Task would take place. On the way they talked about insignificant things, Hadrian trying to mask his fear, but looking into his Papa's eyes at their destination - a huge tent, for Merlin's sake, was everything ridiculously overdone in this bloody Tournament?! - he knew that his Papa was just as scared for him as he was. The older wizard paused before leaving, giving him some last-minute advice: "You don't need to win, my child, simply survive each Task. If it is a choice between winning and survival, you must be the true Slytherin I know you are, and choose your survival. My heart could take nothing less." And with those heart-warming words, Hadrian had to watch his Papa walk away, leaving him to face his Fate.

Entering the tent Hadrian saw that it was even bigger than it had appeared, and he almost smacked himself on the forehead as he realised that of course it must use wizard-space. The other three Champions were already inside, the lone female pacing relentlessly as Krum merely glowered and Cedric worried at his bottom lip.  Hadrian's entrance was barely noted by the three, but the adults who moved into the tent after the slight teenager gained their attention. Ludo Bagman and Bartemius Crouch entered, the latter looking very frail despite his relatively young age. The former was positively glowing, bouncing on his toes as he informed the four teens that they would be drawing a model of what they would face out of the silk bag he held. Hadrian held his breath as Fleur Delacour put her dainty hand into the bag, hoping it wasn't actually a dragon he had to face - but there, in her previously empty hand, was a miniaturised dragon, a "Common Welsh Green!" as Ludo happily announced. Hadrian, being the youngest male, was next to draw the dragon he would face, and knowing his luck he'd get the worst - apparently even thinking this was enough to constitute a jinx, as Harry withdrew a "Hungarian Horntail!" Krum got the Chinese fireball, and Cedric the Swedish Short-Snout. After explaining that the Champions' Task was to retrieve the golden egg from the dragons' nests, without harming the other eggs, the two adults hastened off to join the three headteachers as judges. And as the cannon announcing the beginning of the Task sounded, Hadrian felt sicker than ever.

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Hadrian was set to go last at this Task, and as such, he had an endless wait in front of him, hearing the crowd's reactions without any visual stimulus to place the sounds into context. Time again sped up, as it seemed as though barely had Fleur left the tent before the fourth cannon sounded, enticing Hadrian to what seemed to be his certain death. Taking small steps towards his fate, Hadrian prayed to every deity he had ever heard of that he would survive this immense Task, if only to save his Papa the heartache of losing his only child so soon after finding him...

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Hermione sat in amongst the Lions, hearing the disparaging remarks about her closest friend and having to pretend she agreed, while wishing for nothing more than that friend's safety. Ensconced as she was, she could barely hear Ludo Bagman's words due to the Lions' jeers as her friend, looking ever so tiny, entered the enclosure to face a dragon so fierce, trainers had been known to quit rather than face one - and that was without taking into account the additional fierceness of a nesting mother. Hermione clutched her hands together so tightly she distantly feared they would break, and promised herself that if Hadrian survived this Task, she would no longer make a secret of being on his side.

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The whole of Slytherin House had turned out to support their Champion, and in the stands they were a sea of motionless green and silver, drawing attention for their sheer silence if nothing else. As their Champion came into sight, the whole House stood as one, offering a brief salute as proof of their support. Never before had the school seen the Snakes so cohesive, and that it was all for him made Hadrian's legs threaten to buckle beneath him. The ever-stoic house surprised students and teachers alike with their actions; their own Head of House felt his heart fill with such joy, a feeling that only his House, or now his son, could bring him.

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Finally entering the enclosure where the dragon waited for him, Hadrian was almost overwhelmed at the show of support from his House. It had been almost a month since his integration into the Snakes' House, and their complete support of him now made his eyes tear up as he faced what could be his last moments. Standing as straight as possible, he saluted his House back, making eye contact with those few he had come to call friends - Pansy, Daphne, Blaise and even Draco. Swiftly breaking the salute as his House did, Hadrian turned to meet the dragon he would be facing.

\------------------ PAGE BREAK ------------------

As the noise of the crowd (both supportive and mocking) died down, Hadrian faced the fierce Hungarian Horntail, named as such for the clubbed tail that had been known to take lives just as often as the fire that now spouted from the dragon's mouth. As though the fire was a signal, Hadrian span into action.

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Severus Snape had earned his place of Head of Slytherin, if for nothing else than for his ability to be completely emotionless on the surface no matter what he was faced with. Surrounded by his Snakes, having seen them salute his son and the child salute them back - before having to face a DRAGON, FOR MERLIN'S SAKE! - Severus let his mask go, unable to keep up the facade of blankness, caring more for his child than anything else in that moment.


	18. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! My turn to post again this week. Things are a little better - I still have a roof over my head cos I'm still in a mental hospital. Got transferred to a different hospital yesterday though, and some genius of a doctor decided I have to be escorted off ward to have a smoke. So currently dying for a cigarette and have just been told I can't go out for one for another half hour at least. So yeah, kinda dying and ridiculously emotional cos smoking keeps my emotions relatively stable. But yeah, onto the story, cos I know last week was a cliffhanger!

The days Hadrian’s House spent training him were all for nothing once he got into the arena. Every little informative thing about dragons that was in his mind just vanished as soon as his eyes fell on the beast. There in all her glory stood the nest-mother: her black scales glistening in the late afternoon sun; her yellow snake-like eyes narrowed down at the young wizard who entered her domain; the spikes along her back and tail standing up showing how big and scary she could be; her tattered wings fanned out behind her to make her look even bigger than she was. Sharp teeth lined her mouth, revealed as she opened it to give a hiss at the boy.

“ _Leave me alone wizard, you are not welcome!_ ” The she-dragon hissed at Hadrian as her tail encircled her eggs, and flames started to jet from her open muzzle.

Harry stood shocked at the voice before him; never would he have guessed that this beast would share the same tongue as its long-distant cousins. He barely had time to dive behind a rock when the flames came dangerously close to him, almost giving him a roasted behind. A few cheers from the dragon could be heard, along with cries of fears at how close those flames came to him.

Without much thinking Harry hissed back to the dragon, “ _Winged Sister! I do not mean you harm._ ” The entire audience went silent when they heard the eerie hissing come from the boy. His House looked on in shock even if their masks did not allow such emotion to show; they had forgotten that their newest Snake could speak the snakes' tongue. Of course, it would have been hard to suggest when one was not sure if dragons would share the same speech patterns as a common everyday snake, but still this was not what they had planned for.

“ _Who dares speak to me?_ ” The dragon roared, fire being spat everywhere as she turned her head, looking for the speaker.

Harry took a step to the side, away from the rock that he had hidden behind, knowing it would be better to face the nesting mother instead of hiding in fear. “ _I did, sister of speech but not of blood. I do not mean any harm to you or your clutch sister, nor do I intend to take away your young!_ ” The boy hissed, slowly edging away from the rock but ready to dive behind it again if something happened.

The dragon lowered her large head down to the wizard, causing him to jump back in fear; her large cat-like yellow eyes stared at the boy. Lazily blinking, her tongue gave a flick in the direction of the boy hissing. The hissing to the others sound scary, almost like one was about to have his head ripped off, but Harry heard the laugh: “ _young wizard, do you really think you could have gotten to my clutch, you are but a hatchling yourself._ ” The dragon blew smoke Harry’s way, making him cough. “ _There must be another reason you are here then, my handlers would never allow such a young hatchling to come this close to me without a reason._ ”

“ _Forgive me my sister, as you say I am a hatchling, and not able to face you without fear of losing my life. I am sent here to collect an egg that does not belong to you, for it has been placed into your clutch as a prize for myself and other contestants to retrieve in a stupid little game someone has set up._ ” Harry told the mother dragon.

The dragon let out a roar of anger as she ranted about humans being stupid creatures, endangering their young like that - not to mention putting her young at risk, with an invader in her nest. Flames leapt from her mouth as she ranted; students were cowering as the dragon seemed to lose control over itself, her tail flying through the air with a hiss, the spikes barely missing the stands, squeaking by with mere inches to spare. “ _How dare those stupid wizards do such things, do they not understand the important of young ones?! Each new life is precious, and to endanger those few young!_ ” RWAAR! The flame spat high into the air as the she-dragon let loose an impressive roar, letting her anger leave her.

“ _Yes, we are stupid to showcase such things, but then again we do not understand the importance of young life as much as creatures, since it does not take us that long to reproduce._ " Harry told the dragon with a blush. “ _I wish they did, then nothing like this would happen, and maybe my life would not be in such danger, as it is now._ ” Harry spoke calmly and sadly to the dragon as he thought back on his life even before Hogwarts, the way he was treated as nothing better than a House-Elf.

The dragon looked sadly down on the small wizard and lowered her muzzle to his forehead while closing her eyes; it was much like a mother kissing their child. Her scales softly brushed his head as she comforted the young boy the best way she could: being an expectant mother, she could not bear to think about her young being in such danger as this one was. She stood that way for only a moment before arching her long neck back towards her clutch of eggs. There she carefully extracted the man-made egg from her nest with a gentle bite of her massive jaws, and turned back to the young wizard, depositing it before him with the same gentle nature, a side not many would have seen from a dragon.

“ _There you are young hatchling, the egg that was placed in my nest. Please stay strong young one, and stay safe._ ” There was a mischievous glint in her eye as she continued, “ _and don’t go finding any other dragon to face down. Other nest-mothers aren’t as kind as I was._ ” With that the dragon turned back to her real eggs and wrapped herself around them, gently rearranging them, and blowing a steady flame to warm them back up.

“ _Thank you winged sister for all your help, I will make sure to stay out of trouble, at least to the best of my abilities._ ” With a bow to the dragon, clutching the golden egg close to his person, Hadrian quickly left the quiet stadium. The crowd, who had all watched in shock at the gentle nature of the dragon, were awestruck with how fast everything had happened. There was no action to hype about, there were no injuries, but for those who had witnessed it, this was most memorable Champion to face the dragon.

It was a moment later when the silence was broken again, though instead of the usually-raucous Gryffindors, this time it was those in the Slytherin house paying respect to their member, showing their pride at what he had just managed to do. A slow clap started as the older students finally came to realize that the Task was fulfilled, albeit in such a mild manner as that. Other years quickly joined in as prompted by other Snakes, and the applause grew from their House to the others (minus that of the Lions, who still felt that Hadrian was a traitor) and was soon joined by the remaining schools, who tried to show respect for all those competing.

The cheering and clapping calmed down eventually, as the audience turned to the judges to see what the scoring was.

* * * * Page Break * * * *

As that was happening two small Snakes had slipped away from the crowd to follow their friend into the tent that housed the other Champions. They entered right behind Harry as he was ushered onto the nearest bed by Madam Pomfrey.

“You, young man, are going to put me into early retirement with all the action you have seen the past four years you have been in my care! By Merlin, facing a Dragon, that is even worse than the 12-foot troll in your first year!” Madam Pomfrey said, chastising the young wizard before her, casting spells to see if any injuries had been caused to the young lad by the dragon.

“My dear Madam, I am sorry for such frights that I have given you, but I couldn’t possible stay away from the nice Wing you seem to have to yourself all the time!” Harry said, faking a wounded heart over the words Madam Pomfrey said to him.

Pomfrey narrowed her eyes on the boy when the spell came back with a clean bill of health, and gave him a rap on the head with her wand. “You, Mr. Potter-Prince-Snape, need to learn to stay out of my Wing!" She then quickly moved back to Cedric, who had his leg singed by his dragon, the beast thinking it was one of the dogs he had summoned.

With the nurse gone, Pansy threw herself at the smaller wizard and hugged him tightly. “You stupid boy, you had us all worried, we had no idea what was happening when you began to talk to it!” Pansy said, squeezing him tightly and cutting off Harry’s airway.

“P-Pansy c-can’t breathe!” Harry said, gently pulling her arms away from his throat; she quickly released the boy, only to hit him on the head. “I’m sorry Pans, but the dragon was actually really nice to talk to, and was mad on my behalf after I explained what was happening,” Harry explained, rubbing his head.

Draco chose that time to speak up. “Way to go Potter, apparently you do fit well in with us Snakes. Speaking Parseltongue to the dragon was a cunning move on your part.” That was as close as a compliment one would ever receive from a Malfoy, so Harry took it well with a smile.

Pansy quickly pulled Harry to his feet and started to drag him from the tent. “Come now Hadrian, your score should be announced shortly." It seemed she was right as they returned to the crowd in time to watch Madame Maxime raise her wand in a glorious fashion; a silver ribbon shot from the tip of her wand, making a figure 8. Mr. Crouch followed with a 9, Karkaroff next with a 4 and their own headmaster with a 9.

“Way you go Hadrian, you are now tied for first with Krum!” Charlie Weasley said with a smile, having approached to start dealing with the Horntail again. “I would love to stay and chat with you, but the dragons need to be loaded up!” Apparently not all of the Weasleys had turned their backs on him, something that brightened Harry's mood more than simply surviving had.

With all the excitement done for the day, the three Snakes went to meet up with the others from their House and head back down to the dungeons, both for a much-needed celebration and to find out what the clue would be for the Second Task.


	19. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey loveleys
> 
> Me again! I want to say a massive thank you again to everyone who's commented a kind message regarding my situation, or for those who have had me in their thoughts. I am still in the hospital for the moment, but I'm hoping that this next week will see me in temporary accommodation while the council figure out if they have a duty to house me (aka bureaucratic nonsense xD). But yeah, I'll leave you guys to the story! Much loves xxx

Harry was riding high, celebrating in the common room with the other Snakes, the elation of having survived (and placing joint-first) boosting his mood more than he thought possible, when a silken voice interrupted.

"Hadrian, my office, now," the Head of Slytherin ordered, his mere presence quieting the celebrating Snakes. As Harry got up to follow his Papa, he shot his friends a reassuring smile; he knew his Papa wanted nothing more than to celebrate his continued existence in a private setting, unused to airing his emotions in front of anyone, even his Snakes.

And indeed, upon reaching Snape's office, he swept the boy into a tight hug as though reassuring himself that his child was still in one piece. Harry went along with it happily, as for far too long he had been denied any sort of parental love or concern. Eventually though, he tried to wiggle free: the hug had lasted a really long time, and he was a teenager after all.

"Papa, I know you were worried, but I'm fine, honest. You know that if I wasn't, I'd be in the Hospital Wing with Madam Pomfrey; I swear, sometimes that woman is scarier than facing down a dragon!" Harry attempted a joke to lighten the mood, but it seemed to backfire as it induced his Papa to whip out his wand and start firing numerous diagnostic spells at him. "Papa, seriously? You watched the whole thing, you know that all I did was speak to the dragon. And I think she kinda kissed me on the forehead, like mums do I guess."

Severus paused in his litany of spells, looking a little embarrassed. "Actually, I... Kind of... Didn'treallywatch." His last words came out in a rush, meaning Harry had to translate them before he could answer. How could he possibly watch his son be eaten by such a beast, or battle such a beast without wanting to jump in himself to save his young son, even though he was a capable wizard?! Severus just couldn’t bear watch his newly-found son battle the dragon.

"Papa, really?! I just faced a dragon, and you didn't even see!" The disappointment in Harry's voice was hard to take; feeling like he had let his son down despite the panic that had been the cause of him not watching, Severus didn't notice the glimmer of amusement and teasing in the younger wizard's eyes. He didn't really mind that his Papa hadn't seen, as actually the events hadn't been that interesting; besides, it meant more to him that his Papa obviously cared about him, as evidenced by the fact that the man couldn't watch his son in a potentially lethal situation.

Unfortunately before the misunderstanding could be addressed, there came a knock on the door.

* * * * Page Break * * * *

Standing in front of the Potions Master's office, Hermione bit her lip in anxiety. Upon returning to the Tower with her fellows Lions, she had expressed her awe at Harry's apparent lack of fear against the backdrop of derision...

* * START FLASHBACK * *

_Hermione knew what she had promised as she prepared to watch her friend fulfil his Task, and knew that at this moment she would have to rely on her Gryffindor courage to help her fulfil that silent promise. Standing in the midst of her friend's enemies, her belongings shrunken in her pocket, she listened, and got angry at what she heard. All her **friends** were standing there moping that the dragon did not do Potter in, saying that he was just a lucky bastard; all this was the last straw for her, and she cleared her throat._

_"I, for one, think that Hadrian was marvellous today. He's the youngest Champion, but he didn't let that get to him. Instead, he used an innate gift to his advantage, and I think he deserves much more praise than he has gotten."_

_After saying this, the whole common room went silent, as if the room itself was holding its breath in anticipation of the backlash that was sure to come. And indeed, it did._

_"What, now you're on **his** side? You're just a traitor like him! You gonna go and be a little Snake slut, just like your precious **Hadrian**?" The vicious words came from the mouth of the Lion Hermione had once counted as one of her best friends, Ron Weasley._

_Taking a deep breath to shore up her fading courage, Hermione spoke again. "No, I'm not **now** on his side. I've always been on Hadrian's side, I just felt it was important to tolerate the vicious filth you've been saying about him so that I could stay here, even if not comfortably. But I can't do that anymore; I'm not going to stand back and listen to you badmouth my first friend, just for the sake of my being able to remain here. Hadrian isn't a Snake slut, he's a true Slytherin, and embodies the cunning that House is famed for. And I am glad that he is now where he belongs." And saying that, Hermione stalked out of the room, quitting the Tower altogether whilst her former Housemates immediately joined in on Ron's derision of her as well as Hadrian._

* * END FLASHBACK * *

Now that she was in the midst of Slytherin territory, however, Hermione's inner Lion seemed to have gone dormant, leaving her to face her best friend and his Papa without the benefit of its bravery. And no matter how much she knew Hadrian would be proud of her, there was still a small part of her that feared he would turn his back, and leave her friendless once more - but this time, having known the warmth true friendship could bring, she would be much worse off than before. Steeling her nerves, she knocked timidly on the door.

* * * * Page Break * * * *

Severus stalked over to the door, his mood having soured since thinking that his son was disappointed in him. Upon opening it and seeing the bothersome Gryffindor know-it-all, he decided to unleash some of the vitriol building up inside him.

"Miss Granger, what a ... pleasure," making it clear with his tone that it was anything but. "And to what do I owe this interruption of my evening?"

Hermione's courage fell even further as she heard the silken insults and looked at her Potions teacher's grave face. Struggling to gather the remnants of her bravery, she opened her mouth to speak, when it was made unnecessary by the appearance of her friend.

"'Mione! Don't mind Papa, his bark is worse than his bite and his hackles are raised because of a misunderstanding. Come in!" Harry dragged his friend into the room around his irate father, flashing the man a cheeky smile as he did so. This time the reserved professor picked up on the mischief in his son's eyes, alleviating the worry that he had seriously let his son down. Misunderstanding resolved, he sat at his desk to grade some of the ever-present essays gracing its surface, keeping an ear on his son and the Gryffindor whilst working.

* * * * Page Break * * * *

After recapping what had happened, Hermione got the reaction she was both hoping for and dreading. "You didn't! 'Mione, what are you going to do now? You can't sleep up in the Tower, not when you've made it clear you disagree with those moronic bullies! And you're supposed to have classes with all of them too!"

Hermione blushed as actually, sharing classes hadn't occurred to her in her haste to do what was right. Never let it be said that Gryffindors stood by and planned before addressing inequality!

"Papa, do you have a solution?" Harry knew well that his father was listening, despite his air of nonchalance.

The grown Slytherin gave up the pretence of working, settling back in his chair to think out loud. "Well, there's the obvious answer of Miss Granger returning to the Tower, regardless of the possible repercussions." As Harry got an obstinate look on his face, his father shot him a look, as if to say 'don't worry, I'm not that stupid. I said that it is a possible solution, not the best one.' Mollified, Harry subsided and waited for the better solutions he knew his Papa would have. "Alternatively, Miss Granger could still belong to Gryffindor House in name, and simply spend her nights elsewhere. This, however, runs the risk of countless point deductions and detentions, as it is a Hogwarts rule that students must sleep in their dormitories every night they are here. Therefore, I think there is only one solution, and I believe it is the best one. Tell me, Miss Granger, how would you feel about a re-Sorting?"


	20. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies hope all of you are doing good! Sorry for the lateness of this chapter. I was busy all day and it slipped my mind. :D so I'm almost done with this semester of college only have this week left and I am out for winter break <3 then I go on vacation for a week! anyways hope you guys a safe week, and a happy holiday since I will not be back to wish you guys safe celebration.

Two Slytherins and a young Gryffindor took the Headmaster’s office by storm as without warning all three entered the office, marching up to his desk. There, sat in surprise, was the old coot, and Fawkes who trilled happily to see the trio, seeming to know that they would be there soon; but then again phoenixes are strange creatures and no amount of studying them would unravel the amount of secrets around them.

“Good afternoon, Severus, young Mr. Potter, and Ms. Granger, what can I do for you today?" his good-grandfather twinkle almost absent in his blue eyes.

“Actually, my name isn’t Mr. Potter anymore, Sir, it’s Mr. Potter-Prince-Snape,” Harry muttered, already knowing that the Headmaster was not listening to him anymore.

“I call for the re-sort of the young Ms. Granger, caused by the fact that she is unsafe in her current House,” Severus said, placing a hand on the young witch’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze in reassurance that they will get this done.

Albus frowned, unhappy with what was being done without his foreknowledge. “I am sorry my boy, but I can’t have that done, unless this is Ms. Granger's true desire, and her Head of House agrees with what is going on.”

“I-I really would like to change House sir, if you fire call Professor McGonagall, she could come through for this meeting and give her permission then,” Hermione said to the Headmaster, her hand nervously being wrung in front of her.

With a sigh, the Headmaster could not deny the young brilliant witch her wishes; not with Severus in front of him, who had connections to the board of Governors at his beck and call. Taking a pinch of Floo powder he tossed it into his fireplace, and slowly lowered himself into the flames, “Minerva, are you in at this time?”

Professor McGonagall looked up from her work in surprise at the Headmaster contacting her. “Yes Albus, I am in right now; what can I do for you?” she said slipping out from behind her desk and heading towards her Floo.

“We have a Lion of yours up here asking for a House transfer, will you please come up here?” Minerva frowned, not sure which he was talking about since none of her Lions had come to her with such a desire, that of moving to a new House. The only one that came as a shock recently but at the same time was understandable, was young Mr. Potter-Prince-Snape.

“Alright Albus I will step through right now, please give me a moment.” With that the Headmaster removed his head from the call, and took a step back from his Floo to give the witch room to come through. Turning back to his guests, he remarked “she will be right through, would anyone care for a cup of tea or a lemon drop?” he asked.

No-one cared to answer the old fool, only keeping their eyes on the fireplace, as the flames changed to green as the older witch stepped through. When Professor McGonagall saw Hermione standing there, it was the most shock she had had since Harry moved Houses, maybe even more. With how well she was doing, and how brilliant the young student was, the young Muggleborn was the last person she would have expected.

“Good evening gentlemen, Ms. Granger, I hope you all are having a wonderful evening of celebration. Congratulations are in order, Mr. Potter-Prince-Snape, for tying for first place," The older witch said as she quickly stepped out of the Floo, dusting off any of the soot that could possibly be located on her person after her trip through the flames.

“Good evening Professor. I am sorry to interrupt your night, but I felt like this would be the best time for this,” Hermione said facing her Head of House, soon to be ex.

“It is fine Ms. Granger, I was only going through light grading at this point in the night, before heading off to bed. Now before I can agree with letting you move to a new House, would you care to explain why?” McGonagall asked the young witch, wanting to know her reasons so she could decide if it was a good reason before the younger witch went about transferring Houses.

“I do not feel safe any longer in the Den, what with how Ronald has been acting in the House, bringing together hate for Harry when they used to be best mates, and openly saying that he wants him to die. When I spoke up I became an outcast in the Den, and was evicted immediately out of the common room and into the hallway,” Hermione said with tears gathering in her eyes. “I don’t want to change Houses, but with how everyone is acting it will be the safest choice for me.”

“Ms. Granger, it is my job as a Head of House to make sure that all my students feel safe within that house, and I am now seeing how I have failed at my job, by driving away two former students of mine by my neglect. Please forgive me children for my misdeeds." The old witch had sorrow in her eyes at the wrongs she had done, brought to life seeing two of her precious cubs wanting to transfer (or in Harry's case, already transferred). “I will give consent for young Ms. Granger to be re-sorted, for her reasons are right ones. Please know even though I will no longer be your Head of House, that you can still come to me if you have problems.” The witch said this last not only looking at Hermione, but also Harry, letting him know that even though he isn’t a Lion now he will always be a Lion to her since he was her cub for 3 years.

Hermione gave her Head of House a tearful smile before turning to the old Headmaster, who stood in shock that Minerva did not intervene and reject the idea of a re-sort. With a well-hidden scowl, the Headmaster retrieved the old Hat and placed it upon the muggleborn’s head.

It wasn’t even a second after being placed on the witch’s head that the Hat called out, “Ravenclaw,” and her robes changed from the red and gold coloring of Gryffindor to the blue and bronze of Ravenclaw.

“Congratulations Ms. Granger for your new House, all your belongings have been moved to your new dorm; if you would, please stop by Professor Flitwick’s office to inform him of the changes that have been made. If that is all?” the Headmaster said in a dismissal.

The group didn’t need to be told twice, turning and leaving the office with a smile on their faces with what they have accomplished that night. Now all that was left for them was to find out what was hidden within the golden egg.


	21. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyy lovelies Demon here :) we apologize about last week, I got Elli's email in the middle of the week and replied that I would post this weekend since at the time I was not in my home country and did not have a stable Wifi connect half the time. So here is last week chapter thank you for understanding and showing your support when technical difficulties show their evil little heads ^.^ anyways thank you for waiting and here is the long awaited chapter 20

There was some fuss made the next morning at breakfast when the old fool Dumbledore stood up and announced Hermione's new placement (thankfully not giving any reasons for it!) but generally life at Hogwarts moved on as it usually did - fairly peacefully. Harry was concentrating more in his classes, hoping to pick up useful spells for the Tasks, although they still hadn't figured out the clue within the golden egg. One day in mid-December he was sitting with the egg in his lap, back against the large windows of the Slytherin common room, when a tapping against the glass could be heard breaking the quiet that was the result of Harry closing the egg, unable to stand hearing any more of the screeches for the time being. Twisting around, Harry came face to face with a merman - the last thing he would have expected; despite knowing intellectually that there were merpeople in the Black Lake, he had never seen even a hint of them. Thus, he was surprised that one of them was now facing him through the glass, gesturing towards the golden egg still within Harry's hold. With a strange series of hand motions, Harry came to understand that the merman had been drawn towards him by the awful shrieking coming from the egg whenever it was opened, leading the young wizard to a brainwave - the horrible shrieking, screeching sounds were what Mermish sounded like above water! This figured out, he made grateful gestures to the merman, who seemed to realise that the wizard had understood him as he swam off, quickly being lost to sight. And Harry just sat there for a few moments, absorbing the fact he had figured out the clue (admittedly with help), before rushing off to find Hermione, Pansy, and anybody else he could pull into researching the exact meaning of the clue - after he had held it under water so that he could understand it.

 

* * * * Page Break* * * *

 

One good thing about living down in the dungeons: they were given larger bathing areas, with large tubs instead of just small showers like in the Tower. After talking with Pansy, Draco, Hermione and Theo telling them about the clue, the four Slytherins scrambled back to their dorm leaving behind the confused Ravenclaw. Pansy was a little peeved that she was left out in hearing what the clue was going to say firsthand, simply because of her gender - they'd all gone swimming together before, it was fine! But nonetheless, all the boys settled down in the water as if enjoying the bath instead of being about to unlock the secrets to the Second Task, one that could make or break Harry’s placement in first.

 

_Come seek us where our voices sound,_

_We cannot sing above the ground,_

_And while you're searching ponder this;_

_We've taken what you'll sorely miss,_

_An hour long you'll have to look,_

_And to recover what we took,_

_But past an hour, the prospect's black,_

_Too late, it's gone, it won't come back._

 

The boys were each in their own thoughts about what could possibly be taken from Harry, out of everything he owned.

 

* * * * Page Break * * * *

 

Harry had finally heard the clue in English, and he and his friends began spending every free moment in the library, looking up ways to survive underwater for an hour as well as spells to help defend him. Christmas seemed like a forgotten thought, at least until Harry was woken on Christmas morn by his Papa. "Harry, wake up!" The Potions Master shook his son, wanting to spend this family holiday with him. Seeing his child simply burrow further into his bedclothes, he sighed before Vanishing the covers, leaving his now-awake son startled and slightly cold. "Papa? I was having a nice dream!" Harry complained sleepily. "I was just about to catch the Snitch, ahead of Draco of course..." And the teen's words trailed off into a giant yawn. Meanwhile Severus was despairing of his son's apparently empty brain. "It's Christmas, child, and I wish to spend this day with you. I know you and your friends have been busy with researching for the Second Task, but today you will not be allowed to bury yourself in books! Now, you have five minutes to change, then I want to see you in the common room. As no other Slytherins have stayed this early in the break due to the Yule Ball being held later, we have the place to ourselves. Come on, chop chop!" And Severus left his son to complete his morning ablutions.

 

* * * * Page Break * * * *

 

When Harry finally made it down to the common room - a good half hour after his Papa had left him to get ready - he was astounded at the sight that greeted him. Sitting on the floor by the fireplace was a massive fir tree, adorned with elegant baubles of silver and green, beside which was an unbelievable pile of presents. And in front of the festive scene was his Papa, for once not dressed in his black teaching robes, instead wearing a magnificent deep blue dress robe. "Papa!" Harry exclaimed. "This is..." Words seemed to fail the boy as his eyes took in the decorations around the common room, the frankly obscene amount of presents under (or rather next to) the large tree, and everything else. "Merry Christmas my son, and Happy Yule. I would like it if later we could light a Yule log together, but first there's the simple matter of gifts..." And Severus stepped aside so his son could properly appreciate the amount of presents that were waiting for him to open them. "Presents? You mean, those are all for us?!" Harry was astonished at the excessiveness the presents seemed to suggest. "Actually son, I think there are only a few here for me... The majority are yours. Remember we went to Gringotts a while back?" Harry nodded, still in shock. "Well, the old fool had a redirect on your post, so that anything that would have been sent to you over the years instead ended up in his possession." Severus had to pause for a moment, as his ire with the Headmaster was so great he couldn't get any more words out. "However, when we were at Gringotts the goblins pointed this out to me, and I immediately changed who the redirected post was sent to. I now get it all, but rest assured, I have not and will not pry. I scan the envelopes and packages for malicious spells, as well as an in-depth scan of the contents to see what they are, in case some dim-witted idiot decides to send you something from the Muggle world that is dangerous. Anyway, what I mean to say is, you should have been receiving about this amount of gifts every year for Christmas and your birthday, and if an old fool hadn't meddled you would have." Harry was stunned, angry, and astonished. He was stunned and angry that the Headmaster had interfered in his life again, and astonished that strangers would send him gifts for his birthday and Christmas - after all, the only reason they knew his name was because of something he'd supposedly done when he was a baby. But he quickly dismissed that from his mind, and with the glee of a much younger child dove in and started ripping open presents.

 

* * * * Page Break * * * *

 

The few days after Yule were quiet for Harry, alone in the Snake Pit as he was. The silence was so unlike the usual chatter that it began to creep him out, so he spent most of his time in the library, once again looking up spells for the Second Task. The few days between Yule and the Ball passed quickly in this manner, and before long Harry was inundated with friendly chatter as his fellow Snakes returned in time for the grand Yule Ball, part of the Triwizard Tournament for countless years. And suddenly, in a rare moment of peace, Harry realised - he had absolutely no idea who he would be taking!


	22. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyy lovelies Demon posting again :D hope you guys had a wonderful holiday season and are ready to bring in the New Year! :D hope you guys had a wonderful year and that the goal you set where reached. :) Elli is still having phone troubles and was unable to post but she sends love to you guys as always. Anyways I do hope you like the chapter, we are coming up on how much we have pre-write as of now we are only at chapter 24, and slowly working on chapter 25. But with all my travles and all the technical stuff going on it is making it hard to write at the moment, so here soon there might be some slow progress on posting, but we are hoping that won't be the case. It's a wait and see game right now. Anyway enough of that go read chapter 21! xD

* * * Flashback * * *

_"Pansy please!” Harry begged the Ice Queen, on his knees holding her hand. “I need you to go with me! I-I don’t know who to ask, a-and I really need help, I-I can’t dance to save my life, that’s all Pans only the one dance and you can go off with whoever you want after!” It was just a couple days before the Yule ball (which was pushed back until New Year’s after a lot of students protested and wanted to spend Yule with their family) and Harry had completely forgotten about it, wanting to figure out more about the hint from the egg rather than pay attention to the 'Ball fever' sweeping Hogwarts. As a result, he was now literally on his knees, begging his dear friend Pansy to take pity on him and agree to be the youngest Champion's date._

_“Harry, you cannot expect a person to be free only days before the ball! Why don’t you go ask another girl?” Pansy replied, not liking how long Harry waited to ask someone, and apparently came to her only as the last resort._

_“B-but Pansy, I-I can’t ask anyone else, y-you are the only one I can trust to,” at this part Harry’s face went bright red as he swallowed the lump in his throat. “The only one I trust to lead the dance.” He said that part low enough for only them to hear, as he didn't want anyone else to know his secret just yet, ashamed of it._

_Pansy quickly raised her eyebrow at this, was Harry really that bad at dancing or was there a deeper reason? With a smirk, she resolved to get to the bottom of this. “Alright Harry, I’ll dance with you.” Harry face lit up in hope, until he saw the glint of mischievousness in Pansy’s eye. “Only if you tell me the real reason you are asking me instead of someone else.”_

_Harry paled, “W-W-Well you see I’m pants at dancing, like really bad!” Harry stammered, not looking the Ice Queen in the eye in his pitiful attempt of a lie._

_“No Harry, the real reason.” Pansy said, looking down at the small wizard._

_Harry sighed, releasing Pansy’s hand, standing up and starting to pace, dragging his hands through his hair in agitation. “I-I,” Harry was in a panic now, the last time someone found out that he was gay he almost paid for it with his life. His cousin called him names, and threatened to tell his uncle unless he played 'good little punching bag'. Even then that didn’t save him; Dudley still told Uncle Vernon, and to say the least, the walrus-like man was not happy with a poof living under his roof. He locked Harry away for about 3 weeks with little food or water, the meagre offerings coming in through the blasted cat flap every few days, and only then just enough that Harry wouldn't actually die._

_Harry froze in his panic when he felt hands on his shoulder halting his pacing; he jerked in the hold uncertain if that hand was a threat or not, but when he saw Pansy's worried face he relaxed a degree. “Harry, did someone find out about your orientation and beat you?” Pansy's words were soft, but her eyes were murderous at those who did the deed of harming one of her Snakes. It was the only thing that made sense to her, the only plausible reason the muggle-raised boy was freaking out so much. A nod was seen from the young raven-haired wizard; Pansy sighed and pulled him into a hug. “I will blast those muggles into oblivion for what they have done, but Harry there is no need to fear. Gay witches and wizards are more than welcome in our communities. Of course, this does not stop those few who are prejudiced. But don't worry, I won’t tell anyone until you are healed from all the damage those disgusting people inflicted on you, and are ready for the news to come out.” Harry just teared up; in his mind, a freak like him did not deserve friends who were as understanding as Pansy. “I will go with you to the Ball, but I’m expecting more than one dance from you,” she said with smirk, “even if that means I have to somehow cover up who is leading.” At this Harry groaned but was too happy that she agreed not only to be his “date” but also to keep his secret._

* * * Present Time * * *

It was now too late to back out of the Ball, Harry thought as he nervously tugged at his collar to his white tux, an emerald cloak over it which matched the shade his eyes used to be. The combination was completed with a black shirt, complemented by a white bow tie. The cloak was the exact shade of the emerald ballgown Pansy was wearing, with white elbow gloves to match, and white heels adorning her feet, the white itself matching Harry's bow tie and tux. The pair looked magnificent as they waited for their cue to go into the Great Hall, where the Ball was being held. It was then that a short blonde girl caught his attention; she was wearing a powder blue dress falling down down to her knees, white stockings with it; blonde hair that rivaled Draco’s in shine was put in a loose bun, with pale blue flowers sticking out from it. She also seemed to be wearing what seemed to be radishes for earrings. She was motioning for him to walk over to her; he turned to Pansy, seeing that she had noticed as well.

“Pansy do you know her?” Harry asked, unsure of what he should do.

“I believe that is Luna “Loony” Lovegood, she is a pureblood Raven here; she is a distant cousin to someone in the Snake house I believe - it’s hard to remember all the relations that we have sometimes,” Pansy answered. “I think her family is Grey or Neutral and stayed out of the last war, or at least that is what is believed.” Harry just nodded, taking in the information. “Go over there and see what she wants, it can’t hurt, and I’m right here if something goes wrong.” Pansy gave Harry a little push towards the strange girl.

Harry did as commanded by the Ice Queen and made his way over to the girl who had a dreamily faraway look on her face with a kind smile. “Hello Harry. I know you don’t know me, and weren’t supposed to until next year, but the darn demiguise are messing with time lines again. Even if they aren’t believed to have such a power, really old ones do! Anyway, since the time lines seemed to be a little muddled now, I can properly introduce myself, which makes me seem even crazier to you. I am Luna Lovegood, I’m a good friend and ally to you Harry, I promise you I will never lead you astray. I know you know the second clue by now, and I will point you in the correct direction to get the information you are seeking; go ask Nev, he might have an idea of what to do.” Luna said all this with her faraway look gone for that short moment before returning as she continued. “Harry, do be careful, the Nargles are starting to get to you.” With that the strange witch skipped away, leaving Harry very confused about what just happened.

Harry walked over to Pansy with just moments to spare before being called into the Hall, the strange encounter to be forgotten, at least for now.

* * * Magical Page Break * * *

It was the day before the Second Task, and it found Harry with all his Slytherin friends and Hermione gathered in the library still trying to figure out a way to breathe underwater for an hour. All their resources were just about exhausted; both the bookworms in the group, Hermione and Theo, were frustrated that even with every book they have read they did not have a way to help Harry in his need to live through the Second Task. It didn’t help matters when Professor McGonagall pulled Pansy away to talk about something and the girl didn't return from the conversation. It was in that moment of pure bleakness that Neville Longbottom rounded the corner to stumble upon the tuckered-out group, holding a book detailing plants and things they could be used for.

Harry glanced up at the Lion he had not talked to since he had left the House; of course, it was not either his or Nev's fault, but they had become close friends during his second year - when all Harry's fears were coming true and the boy who could have been the 'Chosen One' comforted him when Ron was busy doing other things. “Nev, I'm surprised to see you here,” Harry said with a tired smile. It was in that exhausted moment that the words from the strange witch the night of the Yule Ball came rushing back to him, triggered by Harry seeing the very boy she had mentioned. “Hold on Nev, this might sound crazy, but someone told me you might be able to help me out!”

Nev opened his mouth to greet Harry, missing his only friend out of the whole House; at least when he made friends with Harry he also made friends with the twins, but he didn’t want to bother them too much as they were two years older and always seemed to be busy - normally with pranks. It was then that Harry rushed out a bunch of words much like he does when he is in a rush or remembered something important. “Huh?” was all his brain could up with when Harry all but jumped up at him, forcing him to look down as his friend's head only reached his chin.

“Look I’m not crazy-” With a glance around the table Harry noticed his friends giving him a look. “Okay let me amend that then: I’m crazy, but that’s not the point - the point is that a witch at the Ball told me that you could help me with the Second Task. That you knew a way to breathe underwater for an hour.”

All poor Neville could do was blink; startlingly enough, he had literally just found the answer to Harry's dilemma after a little blonde third year told him about a plant book he should read - the very one he happened to be holding, having been on his way to check it out of the library. “Umm yeah, a small third year Ravenclaw told me about this book, and it seems really neat. It seems to be exactly the right book - it discusses many plants, including gillyweed, which should help with your problem.”

Harry just gave him the biggest smile he had ever seen on the boy’s face. “I guess Luna does work in strange ways! Thank you Nev! I would love and stay and chat, but I must rush off now! If you see her again please thank her for me!” Harry said, rushing off to god knows where as he frantically tried to think of where he could get some of the valuable plant - leaving his friends staring after him, wondering where his brain had gone now.


	23. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyy lovelies, Elli is still having phone problems, so I'm posting this weeks chapter. I hope all of you are doing well, for those who have started school hope you are making good grades! :) this a short chapter but we hope you like it the same~:D

The day of the Second Task dawned in a fairly unspectacular manner: the sun lazily dragged itself over the horizon, not that it was seen due to the snow-laden clouds looming threateningly over the castle and grounds that made up the majesty of Hogwarts, the majesty that was undiminished by the poor weather. Whoever had decided to hold the task in the Black Lake in February must have really wanted to test the champions! Or so it seemed to Harry as he grudgingly left his toasty bed for the cold of the dungeons, though he was more accustomed to them now than he was earlier in the year. Getting dressed he donned a swimming suit, one that was naturally imbued with numerous warming charms (triggered by a specific word, in this case 'Glytherin' as Hermione had taken to calling him) to try and protect him while he was in the bitterly cold water, but he wore his usual clothes on top, not wanting to give away that he knew what the Task would entail if his fellow Champions didn't. Sighing heavily, he left the dungeons and slowly trudged his way to the Great Hall for breakfast; he was really not looking forward to the challenges that would face him that day.

"Harry!" his Slytherin friends happily greeted him; no doubt Hermione would be over soon to ensure he knew the plan and would follow it. The two days before the Task had been spent with Harry racking his brains as to where he could get the gillyweed to complete the Task; last night it had finally come to him - his Papa was a Potions Master! Harry could only blame the lateness of his realisation on the still-new nature of his more positive bond with the Slytherin man. However, upon asking his Papa, the man readily granted him a lump of the stuff, enough to keep him safe for about an hour and a half, just in case Harry didn't make it back to the surface in time. His friends had been ecstatic at the breakthrough, and no doubt every one of them slept a lot better last night than they would have otherwise.

Harry concentrated on his meal, trying to persuade his stomach that yes, it did actually want food in it, honest. He knew enough to not eat heavy foods due to his imminent swimming, sticking to a fruit salad and some tea. All too soon the meal was over and Harry was being ushered away from his friends (who seemed to have become his cheerleaders - and honestly, who would have thought that Slytherins would be his cheerleaders? And that's without mentioning how bloody strange they looked doing it!) and rushed towards a dock which had been built over the Lake, presumably just for this Task. His fellow Champions were already gathered, all but Krum, who, Harry swore, saw just swimming around the frozen lake for fun, looking bleak at facing diving into water that would no doubt be near enough to freezing to make no difference. No doubt all the Champions (as well as all those who cared for said Champions) were cursing those who set the Tasks, and hoping pneumonia - or something worse - was not in any Champion's near future. Nonetheless, Harry would complete this Task, and his determination might even help keep him warm.

Harry's determination was shaken a little when he turned to see his group of friends, hoping to get some moral support for the freezing task he was about to endure; frowning, he noticed that Pansy still wasn't there. Where could she be?! Harry was worried for his friend, as he knew that she hadn't been seen since McGonagall had come to get her for what was supposedly a brief conversation. What had happened? Maybe something was wrong with a family member, and she'd left school for a bit to see them? But then why wouldn't she tell them what had happened before she left? Harry shook his head, trying to keep his mind on what he was about to do, no matter how futile it would be now that his attention was back on Pansy's mysterious disappearance.

Dumbledore was wittering on about something or other, seemingly not noticing the bitter weather, despite the end of his beard collecting some small icicles; tuning back in Harry heard the words "great courage" and "honour" mentioned. He was getting cold standing here in just his swimsuit (for all the Champions had already disrobed in preparation), and wished that the not-so-esteemed Headmaster would finish his relentless nattering soon. He almost face-palmed as he suddenly remembered the warming charms on his swimming costume that could be triggered, and muttered "Glytherin" beneath his breath. Hopefully Dumbledore wouldn't speak much longer!

Harry's attention was suddenly brought back to the man's speech as it revealed just what they would be searching for. "Each Champion faces the challenge of diving into the Black Lake and making their way to the merfolk's village before retrieving their 'precious' thing and returning to the surface. The precious thing that was chosen for this Task was a person close to the Champion, thus increasing their eagerness and determination to complete the Task in its entirety as soon as possible. They will each have an hour to finish the Task; as always, the one who returns first will receive the most points, the second slightly less points, and so on until the last Champion has returned and thus collected the least points available. And now all that is left is to wish our Champions good luck, and BEGIN!"

At Dumbledore's last word a cannon had gone off; diving into the water after hurriedly choking down the Gillyweed, Harry remembered his previous hopes that his determination - which was now even stronger after deducing that Pansy was what he needed to rescue, due to the fact that she was the only person he was close to that was conveniently missing from the spectators' stands - would help keep him warm. Unfortunately, it seemed that the Black Lake's sub-zero temperatures were stronger even than Harry's determination, so nope, it wouldn't stop him from freezing!


	24. Chapter 23

They all entered the lake with a splash the cold dark water surrounding the champions quickly, he only got glimpse of the over champions for a brief second as all four looked at each other in the mucky water. Krum was now a man shark, his head almost like one of those great whites that played on the TV, and his body his well sculpture human body with a certain film between his fingers to help propel him forward in the water. Harry, himself, was a humanoid mermaid (man) both his hands and feet resemble that of fines with a film like skin between his fingers and toes, he had gills slits on the side of his neck, and his eyes also changes allowing a second like eyelid to protect his eyes from the debris and other things in the water. Both Cedric and Fleur cast a sort of charm that created a bubble of oxygen around their head, that reminded Harry of the thing scuba-divers used. It was after that pause all the champions took off in different directions, in look of the people that were taken from them. 

Harry was swimming through the inky blackness of the lake, the bone chilling water breaking through all the well-cast charms his friends put around him, it made him wonder how Pansy was doing. He also wonders if he really should save Pansy, he did love her like an older sister she was and she was a great friend; but the thing was she might murder him for being put into the lake. Think about this Slytherin was all about preserving the look she had made up to the school, so now she will be soaked to the bone, her hair would not be fixed up, and if she was wearing makeup. Harry gave a shutter, and not from the coldness of the lake, maybe he should just forfeit this one so she would not murder him. Even with those funny thoughts Harry kept swimming to the center of lake knowing that he would never turn his back on the girl, or any of his friends for that matter, they all had his back, so he had to return the favor as well. 

He kept on swimming it felt like in the inky blackness that he was not making any progress what so ever, it didn’t help that he saw quick flashes shadowy movement deep into the inky black water. He was unsure if it was another champion slowing making their way through the mucky water, or if it was some creature trying to make a meal out of him, much like the dragons wanted to do to the other champions. The sounds under water was also a strange thing, unlike the surface sounds was just another one of your sense something people seem to take for granted. Here in the bottomless looking lake, Harry was like a new born child all over again; here he was sightless, here he was deaf, here he was just floating. All that was left to relay on was just his gut and his magic to guild him; even though this challenge was just about solving a puzzle and a rescue, Harry couldn’t help thinking this was also give time to the champions to reflect on themselves and what they would take for granted. Of course, that no one running this tournament was smart enough to come up with a concept like that, all they wanted was to watch kids be murdered and tortured by these beasts and say it was in good fun.

It was in these moments of thought, that Harry realized that he was now seeing a glowing off in the distance, as he squinted his eyes he realized that those where ruins of an old building, and that there was magical lightening system, set up by the either the mere people or by the wizards running this stupid thing. It was a decimated stone building all that was left where old pillars and walls, covered in both seaweed and moss. There seemed to a road system used by the mere people as well, it was a strange sight to say in the least to an outsider that has never cast eyes upon such a race and customs of that of mere people. 

Harry swam up to the small civilization, and was greeted by the mere people; it was not at all what muggle think they are, Harry was almost expecting Arial from the Little Mermaid by Disney, how she had the half part of the normal everyday person than that of a fish tail. Instead The merpeople had greyish skin and long, wild, dark green hair. Their eyes were yellow, as were their broken teeth, and they wore thick ropes of pebbles around their necks (from Harry Potter and the goblet of fire). They motioned him for to follow them, so Harry did just that, swimming behind his escort who lead him to the center of the town. 

There was the people that where taken for this competition, tied with seaweed to a rock that was stationed on the bottom of the lake. There was Pansy, Cho Chang from Ravenclaw, Hermione, and a small girl who look had the same facial features as Delacour, maybe she was the younger sibling. It was there that he met the chief of the merepeople she was slightly large than every other mermaid there, and also had more decorative rocks around the necklace that they all seem to wear. 

“Young champion!” The chief hissed out at Harry, “Take your person a leave,” making sure Harry knew the rules of the this quest. 

“What would happen to those that aren’t rescued in time?” Harry was slightly concerned about the others being left down here. Especially the small girl, she would last as long in this cold water, as the older students and hyperthermia would set in quicker. 

The Mermaid chief was impressed with the young champion, because when the stupid headmaster came to here and request that they allow students to be tied up for rescue it angered them. When asked about what to do when the time limit was up, the headmaster just shrugged not caring on the possible dangers. Why tie up the young students who are the next future, when there is a possibility that they would not be rescued. 

“We will ensure they are safe, young champion, we will not allow harm to come to those that enter our domain, we will bring them to the surface so that they will be rescued.” Harry thought about what the mermaid chief said still unhappy, but at least there was a failsafe; so, he nodded and pointed to Pansy. 

“She is mine, sent down here for me to rescue, please release her.” The mermaids just smiled and did as they were told quickly untying the blonde girl. It was then that the head of the shark and Cedric came down, with mermaid escorts. Not wanting to hang around any longer Harry took off with Pansy towards the surface. 


	25. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> I'M BACK xD  
> And yes I totally said that in an Arnie way xD  
> Anyway, finally got my old phone back so I can post again! So sorry for the technical difficulties, but the wonderful Demon picked up for me :) I once again want to say thank you for all the love and support you guys have shown me personally and for this fic - this chapter was one that really challenged me (it took me about two months to actually sit down and write it!) but I'm happy with how it turned out :) I also want to point out that as of right now, we are only editing chapter 27, so there MIGHT BE a delay in the next few weeks. Hopefully not, but I thought I'd reiterate Demon's warning in case there is  
> Annnnnnnd I'll shut up now and let you read xD hope you enjoy!!!

Harry finally surfaced with Pansy near the judges, gasping for air as he tried to breathe as he usually did. Pansy, having taken in what was happening in the few seconds she had been conscious (the sleep spell having broken once she hit the air), quickly shoved Harry down so the still-present gills on the sides of his neck were once more underwater. The wizard in question thanked her before turning to the dock, surprised to see he was the first Champion back. Just then though there was a small kerfuffle and Fleur pushed her way to the front of the dock.

"Gabrielle! Where eez my leetle seester?" she yelled; apparently she had been attacked and so had not even made it to the merfolks' village.

Harry swam over to talk to her more comfortably. "It's okay. I spoke to the chief of the merfolk, they are going to bring up any unrescued hostages once the Task is over." As if on cue, there was a loud cannon blast. "See? The time limit is up; no doubt soon the merfolk will bring your sister back to the surface."

Multiple splashes broke the short pause after Harry spoke, and Fleur, Harry and Pansy turned back to the broad expanse of the Lake to see five heads bobbing along just above the surface, rapidly moving to join the trio. Fleur broke into a stream of French as she saw her sister swimming with Cedric, Krum, Cho and Hermione, not looking back at Harry to thank him for the information he had given her. She was understandably distracted at the sight of the sister she had thought lost to her.

Hermione came straight up to Harry. "You did all right! I heard you were first back? Well done!" she gushed over him before turning to his Slytherin friend, apparently not bashing an eyelid at the girl's dishevelled look despite how different it was from her usual perfection. "And Pansy - you're okay, right? The two of you didn't get attacked on the way back?"

Harry laughed. "No, 'Mione, we're fine. The most exciting thing that happened was me almost suffocating when we hit the surface because I didn't realise I still had gills!"

Hermione turned on him. "Well they've gone now, so get up on the dock and see Madam Pomfrey!"

Harry gallantly helped the two girls onto the dock before exiting the water himself, hauling himself up at the same time as Krum. The two didn't exchange words, instead being smothered with towels and blankets by Madam Pomfrey.

"Well I never! This Tournament is ridiculous - first dragons, now an hour-long Task underwater? It's like they want me to drop dead before my time, what with all the stress they're causing me!" Madam Pomfrey ranted as she tended to Harry and the surly Bulgarian. "Right! Mr Potter-Prince-Snape, I can see no cause for concern, so you're free to go. But make sure to keep warm!" she called after the teen who was already darting off to meet up with his friends, who had huddled nearby as they waited for him to be pronounced healthy.

"Pansy dearest," he started as he became enveloped by the small crowd of his well-wishers. "I want to say how sorry I am to have been the cause of your current dishevelled state..." He trailed off as Pansy started laughing.

"Oh Hadrian," she said as her giggles began to die out. "There's nothing to be sorry for. Yes, I currently don't look my best, but I was chosen as Harry Potter's - sorry! - precious thing! The fact I'm so obviously dear to you has put me in such a good mood I'm willing to forgive my drowned-rat look."

Harry sighed in relief, his exhale lasting several seconds. Looked like he didn't have to worry about her revenge after all!

* * * Page Break * * *

The crowd of friends had talked until the most studious of then mentioned something they had all forgotten: "Harry, the scores!" Being reminded of this important aspect of the Task, they trooped back to within earshot of the judges, hoping they hadn't already announced the scores for this Task. They were in luck, as they noticed Dumbledore stand up from where he had been squatting at the edge of the dock, talking to the chief of the merfolk. After a brief discussion with his fellow judges, Ludo Bagman's voice rang out.

"Well, that was the Second Task, and what an exciting one it was! But now onto the bit which is more exciting - the scores! A quick reminder of his they currently stand: Viktor Krum and Harry Potter-" Hadrian scowled; they couldn't even get his name right! "-are currently joint first with thirty points; Fleur Delacour is in second with twenty-seven points; and in last place, with twenty-six points, is Cedric Diggory, the other Hogwarts Champion!" The crowd roared their approval at the scores from the First Task, causing Bagman to have to wait for a few minutes before continuing. "Yes, a truly magnificent start to this Tournament! And onto the scores for this Second Task! After careful deliberation, we the judges have decided to award Fleur Delacour twenty points due to her not completing the Task. This brings her score up to forty-seven points total!" Once more the crowd erupted, causing Bagman to wait again. Hermione, Pansy and Daphne seemed to be on tenterhooks waiting for Harry's score, and even Draco was anxious behind his Slytherin mask, but the boy himself was oddly calm. "The next to return was Harry Potter, coming back at two minutes before the hour. We therefore have decided to award him thirty-five points, bringing his total up to sixty-five!" The crowd couldn't contain their joy at this, which made Harry's mood sour. Now they decided to love him again?! The Wizarding World were such hypocrites!

"Harry!" The young man was almost deafened by the squeals of his female friends as they simultaneously threw themselves at him in glee. Harry quickly returned their embraces then turned his attention back to Bagman.

"Viktor Krum and Cedric Diggory returned mere moments after the Task had officially finished; because of this, they will be afforded fewer points that young Mister Potter." Cue groans from the Hufflepuffs and Bulgarians, as well as more than a few Quidditch fans. "Or at least, that would be the case normally. However, after speaking to the chief of the merfolk, we have ascertained that Mister Krum would have returned sooner if he had not stopped to secure the release of Miss Delacour's hostage as well as his own. Thus we award Mister Viktor Krum thirty-five points, bringing his total up to sixty-five, and Mister Cedric Diggory thirty points, bringing his total to fifty-six!" The crowd burst into raucous applause again; the rush of adrenaline had left Harry and now he merely wanted to sleep for a week. _'Just a bit more to get through, then I can sleep,'_ he thought longingly. And indeed he was correct, as Bagman once more announced the new scores and the ranking of the Champions before telling them all that the Third and final Task Would take place on the twenty-fourth of June. With that information ringing in his ears Harry made the trek down to the dungeons before falling onto his bed and slipping into the welcoming arms of Morpheus...


	26. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Me again :) new chapter for you all, with some more lovely foreshadowing xD Ummm not much more to say really - I sent off the first draft of chapter 28 to the lovely Demon earlier today, so hopefully there won't be a delay in a few weeks' time. Anyway, I'll let you get on with the story! Hope you're all good and happy and safe :)

Harry took a few days to completely recover from the arduous underwater Task, but shortly after the challenge had happened he was spending a day with his papa. The duo had taken to doing this when they could after discovering their true relationship; usually they made potions together, but on this particular day Harry needed to talk to his papa about something rather serious, something that to Harry's mind could ruin their whole relationship.

"Papa?" he started hesitantly. At Severus' relatively inviting look, his son mustered up the courage to continue. "During the Second Task I had time to think, and I ended up considering the way beings who aren't human are treated. I kind of thought about it last year when Professor Lupin was here, but while I was in the lake it really hit me. Papa, has it always been that way? Have other races always been looked down on and disrespected?"

Severus sighed and moved to sit next to his son on the sofa, gathering his thoughts for a few minutes before finally speaking. "I can't say it's always been this way, simply because I have not got the relevant data to make such a broad statement. However I can say that for the last sixty years or so, magical races and creatures have been progressively more oppressed. I have an idea as to the cause; tell me, what happened sixty years ago?"

Harry thought for a while, but couldn't come up with an answer. When he revealed this, Severus smirked a little before replying.

"That's all right my son, you have only recently started embracing your Slytherin side so it was almost mean of me to ask you what I did. The link that I have discovered is Albus Dumbledore. Specifically, sixty years ago he became deputy headmaster. Thus he was allowed some say over the curriculum that is taught here, and shortly after that he defeated Grindelwald and gained more power as he became headmaster and the Minister began looking to him for advice. He says that he is trying to get creatures more rights, and on paper that might be true. But look at the situation with Slytherin eyes: Dumbledore has and had enough influence that he was asked to be Minister of Magic, and when he declined that position the Ministers from then on came to him for advice and help. If Dumbledore has that much power, it is reasonable to think that he would have been able to use it to help magical races in at least a minor way. Instead laws restricting the rights and freedoms of creatures have slowly gotten stronger. Why do you bring this up?"

Harry looked stunned at what he heard. "Like I said, I was thinking during the Second Task. I realised that wizards and witches were arrogant enough, sure enough of their superiority, that they thought nothing of displaying a civilisation that is normally out of the reach of humans. It brought to mind the way Professor Lupin was treated, which made me start wondering if it was true for all races the way I've witnessed it being true for merfolk and werewolves. Judging by what you just said, I'm guessing it is. And that sucks!" Harry stood up, pacing around the coffee table to expend some of his frustration. "Just because they're not completely human, the magical races are treated like they're dirt! But it doesn't matter the amount of human they have in them; they still have sentience, the ability to create civilisations - just look at the goblins! And now I find out Albus Dumbledore, he supposed champion of Muggles, Muggle-borns and creatures has in actuality been perpetrating the discrimination again the creatures!" Harry flopped back down on the sofa. "What's next, Voldemort's actually a good guy?!"

Severus looked slightly uncomfortable and put up more wards before turning to face his son, now completely serious. "Funny you should ask that Harry. When I was a bit older than you, I felt the same way about magical races; although the laws weren't as restrictive then creatures were still treated very badly. I started researching as much about the topic as I could get my hands on, which is sadly not much here in Hogwarts. So I asked teachers, which caught the attention of some of my fellow students. Information seems to travel faster than light sometimes, and I was approached by Lucius. We had been relatively friendly while he was in school, but not close because when he left I had just finished my second year. However he had heard about my recent questions and wanted to introduce me to some similar-minded individuals." Harry was now gaping, having deduced where this conversation was going. Severus saw this and decided to confirm. "Yes, he introduced me to the Dark Lord. He agreed with the ridiculousness of most of the restrictions that were laws then, and had actually managed to research the topic to back up his views. Back then the Dark Lord was more political and less about violence and fear; with some of his Death Eaters' permission, he used their seats in the Wizengamot to try and nullify the laws restricting creatures. Each time he tried he was shut down and the laws ended up having fewer loopholes and metaphorically caged magical races more. Then came the prophecy, which seemed to shatter his mind completely."

Harry sat for a moment just absorbing the information he had been given. Clearly Voldemort wasn't as bad as he had been painted, or at least he hadn't been until the prophecy. Wait a minute, what prophecy? He repeated the question out loud. Severus looked deeply uncomfortable again, seeming hesitant to speak. Eventually he opened his mouth.

"About two years before that All Hallow's Eve, one of his favoured Death Eaters overheard the first few lines of a prophecy which seemed to be about him: _'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...'_ That was all the Death Eater heard before he was discovered, but when the Dark Lord heard it the contents seemed to become a fixation for him. It was what led to the events that night..." Severus' vice broke as he thought about the night his beloved James had died, a night he himself had a part in...

"Papa?" Harry's voice broke Severus' mournful contemplation. "Papa, it wasn't your fault. It couldn't have been just me who was born at the end of July, and definitely not considering it's so vague and doesn't mention a year... You couldn't have known that he would decide it was me and come after dad and Lily; it's not your fault."

Severus was once again shocked by his son's intelligence and empathic nature. He hugged his son, vowing silently to never forget to tell the young man how much he was treasured. "That's not all, child. Despite what the Dark Lord did to whom I thought was my great unrequited love, I followed his ideals even after his defeat. In fact I still do. The only thing that has made me hesitate in being Dark, as my magical core is, was the loyalty vow the old fool made me swear. Thankfully it wasn't to him or the Light side, but to you. That means that I could potentially live my life being loyal to my Lord and to you, without being torn."

Harry interrupted. "I get what you're saying, but I don't think that's going to be an issue papa. I was already having doubts about the Light side, and the information you've just given me has decided me. Congratulations papa, you've got a new convert for the Dark, and it's Harry bloody Potter!" Harry grinned. "So, shall we make a potion now?"

Severus nodded, stunned by his son's words. It looked like his life was about to get easier; even if the Dark Lord managed to return (as Dumbledore had been swearing he would for more than a decade) he just had to inform his Lord of his son's true affiliation. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little something I just thought to ask you guys: I've got an idea for another fic, but to be honest the ideas I've got for it are all very similar to a lot of other Dark!Harry fics out there. Would you guys be interested in reading my take on it? I feel like it'd be ridiculously similar to other Dark!Harry fics I've read, as it's kind of inspired by all of them. If I get enough positive reaction to this idea, I will actually write it, but I probably wouldn't be posting any time soon because I'd want to have lots of it written before I start posting - and because I don't want this fic to suffer if I start writing something else.  
> Thanks guys! Hope this is okay with Demon cos I kinda posted it without asking xD if you see this, it's better to ask forgiveness than permission? *sheepish look*


	27. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies, Demon here to post this week! :D I hope all of you are doing good and that you had a pleasant week. I am currently working on chapter 29 in hopes I will have it to Elli by later tonight, but Musey is being a tough bitch, and not wanting to write today. Anyways we hope you enjoy this chapter!

The Weasley twins were notorious throughout the whole of Hogwarts for five reasons:  
1\. Being the best pranksters since the Marauders  
2\. They were part of the Weasley clan  
3\. Being Gryffindors even though they had Snake tendencies  
4\. They had friends in every single house  
5\. They were loyal to their friends regardless of houses.

The last point was the very reason they had been targeting a certain rat in their family. Seeing what Ron was doing to his ex-best friend, his almost brother, their younger and smaller (well not any more) brother, had the twins seething. For weeks they had put Ron through the wringer; of course this made said rat-faced boy run to mum. They ended up with a Howler later that day, but sadly for him Ron didn’t get to see said Howler since the twins knew how to time their mother’s Howlers to where no one saw or heard what Molly Weasley had to say about what a disgrace to the family they are, how stupid they are, and what failures they are. This hurt the twins every time their mother said something to degrade them, comparing them to their older brothers, but also making an example out of Ron saying that even he was better than them.

The twins had long ago forged their own path away from the crazy family, escaping the mould so to speak, since they knew they could never live up to what their brothers had succeeded with in life. Couldn’t live up, or in this case down, to what their mother had planned for them. Of course, their brothers' reasons for becoming what they are was also because they wanted to escape the zoo-like house they lived in. Bill going to Egypt, and Charlie to Romania, even perfect Percy escaped by joining the Ministry.

This last Howler though sent the twins over the edge in anger for this woman that they called mum. It hurt them, that their mother could say hurtful stuff about what they do, and the trouble they cause; but when she turned her back on Harry, the unofficial adopted brother/son in their family? Saying that he was just crying for attention, and that he was just another Snake, another dark wizard? Telling them to stop talking with him, stop association with him, or else, just made them sick. She went as far as to even say that what their younger brother was doing was for the greater good and that they should leave him alone. That he was just helping protect everyone from the dark wizard. If only the "Potter brat" had stayed in Gryffindor, they would be able to help rid him of the darkness that surrounded him.

“George, I-I can’t believe this.” Fred said snatching the Howler out the air ripping it apart himself.

“You are right Fred, this is just stupid. That woman! So nice and loving apparently, but has the audacity to say such shite! It isn’t Harry’s fault about anything, it was for his protection, for his sanity.”

“If Harry didn’t leave when he did, he would most likely be seriously harmed…” there was a hush over the room as the unspoken 'or killed' lingered in the air. The way the Lions acted when they thought Harry went behind their backs and entered the stupid tournament, it would have been icing on the cake and certain death if he came back up to the lion’s den as Snape’s son. There was only a handful of people who believed in Harry and still had his back in the lion’s lair. There was Hermione before she left, Angela, them, and Lee (who was on the fence half the time but stayed because of them). Everyone else just turned their backs, some loyalty the pride showed.

With a sigh both twins pulled themselves together, putting a mask on to show their “brother” that they what their mother sent them didn’t affect them. All they knew is that at some point they would need to make sure to talk to Harry about everything that was happening and that they still had his back no matter what house he was in. They would support house unity; how else would their future job take off, if they only catered to the lions? They needed the Ravenclaws' brains for ideas, Slytherins’ sneakiness to execute the plans, Gryffindor tenacity to execute the bigger stunts and Hufflepuff loyalty to make sure everyone returned for more pranks. They will soon speak to Harry, just not today with Ron breathing down their necks after the stunt they pulled; but putting spiders in his bed was well worth the few days of caution they had to do.

* * * * Magical Page Break * * * *

Harry was enjoying the study break, after being cooped up all day in the library he was finally allowed to escape the confines of the books after begging both ‘Mione and Theo. They were the biggest bookworms a person could know and it was terrifying when they teamed up; they had towers of books stacked on there table in the alcove they claimed, and paper spread out all over the table with random scribbling that might be notes from a certain book. Their talk as well was just confusing, almost as scary as the twins, completing the train of thought when one of them was trying to figure out what they wanted to write but couldn’t find the words.

Harry now found peace in front of the Black Lake (even if just a few weeks ago it almost drowned him) watching the giant squid swinging a tree limb that broke off from a recent storm.

“Ohh looky here!”

“Yes! We have found our Glytherin!”

“We have been looking-“

“High and low for you!” The twin said, completing the sentence the other one started.

Harry just smiled and chuckled at the twins, he had missed them dearly when he moved out of the den; but for their safety he didn’t try to associate with them. He didn’t want Ron to pick on them, or Mrs. Weasley to get mad at them either.

“Fred! George!” Harry greeted looking at the correct twin when he spoke to them. “I’ve missed you two, but what are doing here? I don’t want you to get in trouble for speaking with me.”

“How in the world do you do that?!” George exclaimed.

“You are the only one besides Lee, that have been able to tell us apart!”

“Not even Mum can tell us apart, there is a very good chance we are supposed to have each other's name and not even know," George said turning to look at Fred, “I am now Fred and you are George okay.”

“Okay Fred!” there was a silence that followed for a brief second, “On second thought I don’t think I can be you George, you are the smart one, and I’m the action one, take your name back.”

All the while Harry was dying of laughter, on the inside of course since Slytherins don’t show that you have made them laugh, instead he was smiling at the actions the twins where doing.

“Anyway! Fred let's get back to the point and explain why we are here!”

“Ahh yes, why did you get us off track?!”

“Don’t blame me you dingus! Anyway Harrykins, we were hunting you down to let you know that no matter what our rat brother says, we are with you 100%. We do not turn our backs on family.”

“We can almost say for certain, that Charlie and Bill are with you as well. They do not hold the same screwed-up views as Ron.”

Harry frowned as a dark look crossed his face. “I know Molly isn’t taking this too well, I’ve gotten a few Howlers from her claiming that what she has done for me was for nothing. And that I’m a brat and a dark wizard for what I’m doing.” Harry sighed. “I don’t want you to lose your family for this guys, I know what it is like not having a family to back you up.”

The twins pinned Harry with a dark look of their own but also a hint of sadness can be found. “We do not want a family that would sooner turned their backs on another family member when he/she does something outside their powers. It is not like you asked to be the son of the lovely dungeon bat.”

“Not that it is a dreadful thing! We are just saying!”

“We also hold very little hope for our Mum, Harry, you know how she is on her views. She isn’t too proud of us, and even goes as far to tell us what failures we are.”

“It hurts, so we would rather have a family who believes in us and has our backs, a family made of friends so to speak.”

“All Fred is trying to say is that you are our family, and we will stick with you through thick and thin; even if you turn Dark, or you are Light, we are here for you no matter what!”

Harry couldn’t help himself, tears glistened in his eyes with the show of support the twins were showing. He threw himself at the two red heads clinging to them. “Thank you guys! That means a lot, I worried I would lose the family I had created.” It seems no matter how Slytherin Harry tried to be, some of his Gryffindor tendencies showed through.

The twins hugged back, happy to hold their younger brother once again. Breaking apart the twins' eyes shined with a malicious tendency. “We were also hoping that you had some ideas for a certain redhead pig that you cared to share.” The trio shared a slightly evil grin before they got down to planning.


	28. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies, hope you like this chapter this week. Going to keep this nice and short because I am not feeling so good today. Love all the support you have shown us <3 and super excited to see we have almost reached 700 kudos.

It seemed that having the Weasley twins join their social group had made everything click into place, Harry mused one day as they all sat outside enjoying the sunshine. The twins fit in perfectly with the Slytherins and Hermione, and in return they all loved having the twins around. Not only did Fred and George show them all the cool pranks they came up with, but also showed them new spots in the castle, areas the twins used to work on or set up their pranks. Of course Harry and Hermione already knew of these spots because they had the Marauders' Map, but it was still nice of the twins to show the Snakes parts of the castle they hadn't known about before. Pansy especially seemed to take to the twins when she found out they had a treasure trove of gossip from within the Lions' den; who knew the infamous Weasley twins had dirt on anyone, let alone the dozens of people they knew the secrets of? But then again Pansy was still the queen of gossip and had dirt on everyone it seemed, particularly now that she seemed to have teamed up with the twins. Harry was still a little scared of Pansy despite their budding friendship having grown much stronger since the Second Task, simply because of how much information she could get through the grapevine. It didn't help Harry's fear that she knew his deep dark secret that no one else (of you excluded the horrible Muggles) knew about, but the young scarred wizard also knew that Pansy would stick to her word and not reveal his secret until he was ready for it to be made public.

The true shock upon the addition of the twins to the group was how quickly (and how well) Draco got along with them, seeing as they were from a family of blood traitors; but with how much he looked forward to seeing the twins each time they planned to hang out as a group, along with the slight blush that spread across the Malfoy heir's cheeks whenever the twins were mentioned, it was clear he **really** liked them. Harry of course kept Draco’s feelings to himself as he didn't want to scare the blonde off if there was a budding romance, but he wasn't the only one to have noticed the amorous vibe if the smirks Pansy sent in their direction were anything to go on.

And apparently the Weasley/Malfoy romance wasn't the only budding relationship amongst the group: Hermione and Theo seemed to have a love of books that was transcending the tomes the duo adored and attaching to the only other person in the group who could spend hours immersed in books and not be bored - each other. If Harry ever brought it up in a conversation with 'Mione however he would get hit over the head with a book, or more accurately a voluminous tome, considering what she thought was 'light reading' material. Theo and Hermione were always the first ones there when it was a library meet up (perhaps to be expected considering their bibliophile natures), already sitting in the alcove the group had claimed, all warm and cosy surrounded by piles of books, deep in conversation about certain spells or notes taken during class. You could clearly see the blushes that crept up their faces when they realised they were going on a rant about a topic the other already knew about, or when they both reached for the same book and their hands brushed against each other. It almost hurt Harry to see the awkwardness of this blooming love - how much longer would he have to put up with it before 'Mione finally asked Theo out?! Because Harry knew it would be that way round due to Theo's chronic shyness and withdrawn personality; even when the group were alone he was the quietest one. It would do the boy good to have a partner who's able to bring him out of his shell, as Hermione definitely seemed able to do that.

There was another new addition to their group: Neville Longbottom, who had started tutoring Blaise in Herbology after Madam Sprout paired them up for a project. Blaise had seen an opportunity to improve his grade from an Exceeds Expectations to an Outstanding, so he took it. In return he tutored Nev in other subjects, mainly Potions, as and when the timid Gryffindor needed it. Due to his inclusion in the group Nev was slowly losing his timidity and slowly becoming the loyal Lion he was always meant to be.

And shortly after Nev's integration Luna Lovegood joined the group too. She was a little third year that nobody seemed to know except the Ravenclaws and Ginny, despite her giving Harry a major clue for the Second Task. She was a little spacey at times, and said some of the weirdest things, but despite this and her strange taste in fashion (like a homemade pasta necklace and the radish earrings she had worn the night of the Yule Ball) she fit into the group seamlessly. She got along really well with the twins and Draco, following them about and helping with pranks; once she even gave them an uncharacteristically clear warning about a teacher passing by. Nobody knew how she had known, but thanks to her they got away with pulling a prank on a teacher, and no one even knew they were there since the castle seemed to follow her requests and had hidden them from sight. Nobody in the group knew exactly how she had managed to insert herself into their small bubble - one day Luna just walked over and joined them sitting in the grass like they had been friends all along - but all of them were happier with her there. It appeared as though they were all pieces of a jigsaw that had only now been put into place.

Despite the great friendship they all shared, it felt a little empty to Harry as he observed his friends in the sun. They all seemed to be getting into relationships - Draco and the twins, Hermione and Theo, even Blaise, Neville and Luna formed an odd trio - and only Harry and Pansy were still completely single. That might not have been the case though: it was plausible that Pansy had a partner at another school. Which left Harry the only singleton. Most times it didn't bother him too badly and he was very happy for his friends; however sometimes it really got to him. Those were the times Harry went in search of his papa, to hang out away from the teenage hormones and connect better with his remaining parent.


	29. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I little later then when I add a chapter, but I just got around to sitting at my computer~  
> So you're in store for a little POV change, we are going on a trip! New Faces :3 I hope you are ready for this!  
> Comment below what you think of this little change up, we wanted to try something new.  
> Other news as of right now next week chapter is the last per-written chapter we have, we are hoping there won't be a delay in updates, but it all depends on our muses and on our time to sit down and write. We will let you know next week if there is a delay or not. :)

Bartemius Crouch Junior was not a stupid man. There would undoubtedly be those who disagreed with that statement, due to the man having followed Lord Voldemort and even spending time in Azkaban because of that relationship, but Barty was firm in his belief that his personality traits did not include stupidity. Which was why this year had him baffled.

Shortly before taking Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody's place, his beloved Lord had approached him with a mission: to usurp the soon-to-be Defence professor without arousing suspicion and put the Potter brat's name in the Goblet of Fire. Despite the great amount of faith Barty had in his Lord, he had a rather large quantity of skepticism about how well he could pull off the task he was being ordered to perform. However, things had gone rather smoothly, and in short order Bartemius Crouch Junior was once again walking the halls of Hogwarts, this time under the guise of Moody.

Which led to Barty's confusion. During his time at Hogwarts he had been keeping a keen, if discreet, eye on the Potter brat. To find out he was Severus Snape’s son and resorted as a Slytherin was a big enough shock; as if that wasn't enough, shortly thereafter, the brat's whole demeanour changed, as did the group of friends that almost constantly surrounded the boy. For the first time Barty was starting to doubt his Lord's plan entirely, as even without getting too close to Potter he could tell the child's magic was no longer entirely (and nauseatingly) Light. With this in mind, he arranged a meeting with the golem that currently housed the mind and spirit of the man known to most as Lord Voldemort.

*     *     *

"My Lord," he greeted the small, misshapen body, immediately dropping to one knee to express his loyalty.

"Leave us Wormtail," the high-pitched cruel voice ordered. Wormtail gave his clumsy bow, casting Barty a dirty look, before scurrying like the rat he was out of the room. Once the sniveling rat had gone, the entire bearing of the Dark Lord changed, although to be honest most bystanders wouldn't have noticed a difference, at least until he spoke again. "Barty, come sit. What news do you have for me that is so urgent it could not wait?"

Barty sat down, thinking before he spoke as he in no way wanted his Lord's anger directed at himself. Sure the man was slightly more stable now due to the ritual he had used to gain a body, but Voldemort's 'more stable' was still similar to the craziness exhibited in Bellatrix Lestrange née Black.

"My Lord, I have been witnessing changes in the Potter boy that have caused me to question the efficacy of what we are doing." Barty paused, half expecting a Crucio to come his way, but apparently the Dark Lord was in a rare good mood as none appeared. He hastened to continue. "The first major change is his parentage, My Lord.” Barty pauses, his tongue flickering over his lips, casting a glance in his lord’s direction. “My Lord, he is Severus Snape’s son, I have no clue on the true parentage of his mother, but he keeps the Potter name. His magic is no longer as Light, and the children he surrounds himself with are either Neutral or Dark, although he is still often found in the company of that wretched know-it-all Mudblood." Barty couldn't prevent a sneer forming at the thought of that dirty blood. "Because of this trend, despite the company of one who is not worthy to be called a witch, I believe we could fairly easily win the boy to our side, inevitably winning the war. However, I do not think that this would be possible if we continue along our current path."

The grotesque form seemed to be considering his words carefully. How could the most loyal of his followers not tell him of such an important factor! There must be a hidden reason behind it. After a few minutes, a reply was spoken.

"And what would you do instead Barty? I must return to a body more suitable to my station, and the ritual is one of the easiest ways."

Barty was a bit surprised at his Lord's question - he hadn't asked for advice since hearing the thrice-damned prophecy that eventually robbed him of a body - but didn't let it show as he quickly thought about possible solutions.

"I believe we should continue with the plan as far as abducting the boy via the Triwizard Cup turned into a Portkey but have a different ritual instead of the one we wanted to use originally. Posing as Moody has allowed me to read his books, some of which are remarkably Dark by the way. Anyway, there is another ritual, similar to the one you found, but it calls for the willing blood of an ally instead of the unwilling blood of a foe. I can start to subtly work on Severus, if I have your permission to reveal myself to him, and thus find out if the boy could potentially be won over to the Dark completely. If not, we will return to the original plan."

Voldemort once more thought over the man's words and was shocked to feel a stirring of something within him... was that hope?! Hope that the once loyal child of the Light be on his side? That he could truly end this madness of war, that has taken so much from him? "Very well. Reveal yourself to Severus once you have ascertained that his loyalty is truly with me, and work to convince him that his son is no longer considered an enemy. However, if this fails..." The Dark Lord's threatening look took the place of any words but conveyed just as well what the punishment for failure would be. Barty gulped nervously, bowed to his Lord and Apparated away. Now to start on this plan, which would be a lot more difficult - hopefully it went just as well as taking Moody's place had.


	30. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes it's a day late I am sorry~ where I live we have been experiencing A LOT of rain for the past week, more than what our area is use to. I also had a ton of college work that needs/needed to get done. but at least it is only a day late on the bright side. As for chapter 30, I have no idea if we are going to be able to post on time. Elli is have a case of bad musey who wanders off, and hasn't been able to write all that much for chapter 30; but I guess we will see about that next week. :) till then~

It was one of those calm nights Harry loved the most, the nights where he was able to go to his papa’s quarters and relax, talk about what has been happening that week, maybe even make a potion together. Lately each of those nights had been more concerned with Harry being educated about the Dark side, learning more about what they fight for and why they fight for it.

One of those nights, they also performed a spell or ritual that revealed what type of magic the young wizard could perform the best. It turns out that Harry, much like his papa, had a natural affinity for performing Dark spells, as well as being best in Defence; another affinity that popped out was ward magic. Apparently somewhere along his dad's side of the family, someone had a talent and was well known for their ward magic and was revered in that area still to this day.

Since Hogwarts no longer taught warding magic nor did they teach Dark magic, Severus took it upon himself to teach his son. He showed his son the old Dark magic books that were passed down the Prince line, as well showing him the uses that Dark magic had.

“Harry while these are considered Dark spells and casting, what do you see that they have in common with their counterparts in Light magic?” Severus one day asked his son while they were relaxing in front of the fire.

“Papa, there isn’t any difference besides the change in Latin and wand movements, apart from that they might be a tad more powerful than their Light counterparts. Let’s use Bombarda and its dark counterpart Separabo for an example. While with Bombarda you can easily cast a Reparo spell to fix the broken parts, with Separabo there is no way to be able to put the object back together, neither with a Light spell or a Dark spell. It seems that Dark spells are more definite.”

Severus nodded at what his son said. “In a way yes; what you say is correct, but the change in the words used and the wand movements means more than what you have summarised. Sadly, it isn’t the right time to teach you my son, seeing as you are only in your fourth year.”

With that they stuck with only reading about the Dark and Light spells and discussing what wand movements are used and the proper way to pronounce the spells; but never did they try to practice the spells, since there were most likely wards in place tracking to make sure no Dark spells were used in the castle.

Sadly, Severus was unable to teach his son much about warding magic as he only knew the basics of such, and his son had speedily surpassed what he was able to teach, taking to warding magic like a duck to water, as the filthy Muggles would say. Soon he was only able to buy and give his son the books he needed. Severus was hoping that by summertime he could find him a proper tutor, maybe even see if the goblins were able to spare a ward caster to teach his son.

* * *

“Hey papa, what was Tom’s real reason to start this war?” Harry asked one day out the blue. They had just finish reading one of the Dark spell books and were unwinding in front of the fire. “I know we talked about the mistreatment of the creatures, but that can not be the only reason why Tom would do this. That isn’t enough motivation for Tom's Slytherin side to start a war.”

Severus studied his son, he knew now that his son was truly done with the Light side's shite, but he was unsure if he had truly transferred over to the Dark Side. “You are right. As you noticed, there have been a lot of spells banned from use and misunderstood over the years, the people in charge considering them all 'Dark spells'; this continues on today, spells are being stopped from being taught because of the way they could be misused. For example, the killing curse: that was once considered a Light spell; it was used as a type of mercy killing, in order to put a quick end to the suffering and slow, painful deaths people were facing during the times where plagues were a major problem. But one wizard misused it, and it was forever banned from medical use and was then labeled a Dark spell. That is what The Dark Lord is fighting for: the right of Dark magic users to once again use their natural magic without fear of persecution or judgement. There are other major plots in the Ministry that we are trying to fix as well, for example the limiting of study and expansion in Dark magic fields and trying to lessen (if not eradicate) the fear that the Light side has brought with it.”

“So Dark spells and Light spells were both created to help the wizarding world?” Harry asked, really curious as to why Dark Spells had such a bad reputation.

“Well yes and no,” Severus answered a little hesitantly, unsure of how to answer this question fully to where the fourth year could understand. “Dark magic and Light magic were created in two different ways. Dark magic was created for the purposes of healing and for fighting those who mean harm, that is why snakes are used to represent the Dark side. Think about the caduceus: two snakes and wings, used as a symbol of medicine; or the Rod of Asclepius, with only a single snake. Back in ancient Greek times snakes were used for medicinal purposes, but thousands of years later they were thought to be the incarnation of the devil due to the popularisation of Christianity and their belief in Adam and Eve, with the serpent tempting them into disobeying God. On the other hand, Light magic was created for defence as well as for teaching purposes,” Severus paused. “The reason Dark magic is feared is that, as you have noticed, it is extremely difficult to reverse the spell when there is no counterspell.”

Harry nodded, kind of understanding where his papa was going with this. “Is that why Slytherin chose a snake as his House's symbol? For it to be a house of Dark wizards and healers?”

"Are you sure it’s not just because he was vain and wanted to flaunt his parselmagic?” Severus just smirked and shook his head while his son stared open-mouthed up at him. “I’m kidding, you are correct. This is supposed to be the ‘House of Dark magic’, all the rumours are true there. But in the Founders' time Dark magic was still just another branch of magic, and therefore still acceptable to teach.

“Now I think that is enough learning for tonight son, time for you to head back to the dorms and get to bed, you still have classes in the morning and I’ve heard that the Potions teacher can be a little mean in the mornings,” Severus said, taking the now-empty cup of hot cocoa from Harry’s grasp before shooing him out the door and in the direction of the dorms.


	31. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! My turn to update this week, and it comes with both good and bad news. The good news is, this is a new chapter! The bad news is that this is the last chapter we have written.
> 
> So I'm really sorry guys, but this chapter will be the last one for a few weeks. Real life being crazy and Musey running away mean that I literally only sent this chapter to Demon today, they've sent it back, but it means we don't have any more prewritten chapters and thus won't be updating for a few weeks. Once again I'm sorry, but it'll mean regular updates in the future.
> 
> Okay I'll shut up now, and let you get to the chapter!

With only about a month or so to go before the Third Task, Harry's life seemed to be going smoothly. Until, that is, a small, seemingly innocuous article in the Daily Prophet. It was on page two, thankfully not as obvious as it would have been as a headline, but it was enough that it started the school whispering. Pointing and side glances were thrown Harry’s way as he walked into the Great Hall. Unsure what was happening Harry turned to Pansy to question the gossip queen about what was going on.

“Hadrian, I don’t think I should let you read this,” Pansy said shifting uncomfortably in the intense gaze of the green-eyed boy.

“Pansy, I need to know what is going on, if I don’t figure it out then someone will take me by surprise with information that I do not have," Harry said knowing this was a snake's tactic; to always have the upper hand. Pansy bit her lip, in the most unlady-like fashion, she didn’t want to hurt her friend, but he needed to know since the red-haired rat would most likely taunt him with this article. After a moment to consider the best plan of action Pansy reluctantly gave Harry the current issue of the Daily Prophet with instructions to turn to page two.

_BOY-WHO-LIVED ABUSED?_

_It has come to the attention of this intrepid reporter, the beautiful and talented Rita Skeeter, that the Boy-Who-Lived, the inspiration to so many, may in fact have been abused throughout his childhood!_

_This information came from none other than Ronald Weasley, the youngest male in the Weasley family, who is young Harry's best friend. Apparently the two came to a tumultuous patch in their relationship several months ago, and thus Master Weasley decided to contact this reporter so that "the slimy Snake will stop whining about everything!" (And yes, dear readers, that is a direct quote!)_

_It seems as though the friendship of this young duo has hit more than a snag and may in fact be completely over!_

_As of this edition of the_ Daily Prophet _going to press, not much more is known.  However, rest assured that I, the lovely Rita Skeeter, will endeavour to find out more about this interesting and horrifying aspect of the life of young Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived._

After reading the article, Harry's whole body seemed to go numb. The newspaper slipped from his nerveless fingers and his surroundings seemed to retreat as the teen unwillingly began to succumb to unconsciousness. Taking a deep breath which did nothing to calm his nerves, Harry hastily left the Great Hall, wanting to be nowhere near his peers right then.

Severus watched his son flee the Great Hall, in such fright that it had him worry, he quickly grabbed the Prophet from the table where he left it until he finished his meal and began to read. In a fit of anger Severus burnt the Prophet, casting his deadly gaze upon a certain redhead with a promise of a detention which he would never forget before running after his son.

*   *   *

Twenty minutes of frantic searching later, Severus finally found his missing child. The boy had let himself into the Potions Master's quarters and curled up in as small a ball as possible, virtually disappearing from view due to his position on the far side of the coffee table. Severus hastily conjured a Patronus to inform his son's friends that he was found and that they should attend lessons before turning all his attention to the boy who was on the floor in front of him, clearly in pain.

"Harry, my child?" Severus spoke as softly as he was able to, not wanting to startle his son. He slowly approached the ball of unhappy boy, intentionally scuffing his feet so that the teen would hear him approaching and thus hopefully not freak out when the man's voice came from a closer position. "My son, may I touch you?"

A very small, almost indiscernible, affirmative noise came from the huddled youth, so Severus lost no time in scooping his child up from the cold stone floor and settling him on his lap as he sat on the sofa. He wrapped his arms tightly around the boy, but not tightly enough that the teen couldn't break free if that was his intention. The professor had the feeling that both of them would need the comfort in order to have this conversation. The pair sat in silence for a while before Severus spoke.

"Harry, I know that you didn't want any information about your abuse getting out, but you have nothing to be ashamed of. I know they taught you that you were to blame for everything; and although emotionally you still feel this to be true, you know logically that it was them who were in the wrong. You did nothing to deserve being abused. Is that clear?"

Harry nodded a little. "I know what you're saying is right papa, but it was drilled into me that nobody should ever know about the abuse they put me through, because even if I was believed they wouldn't be able to help and I would have gotten punished more for telling. I know that you have the responsibility for me now, but it's difficult to unlearn things that kept me alive."

"I know that my child, and I will keep reminding you that you are safe until even your subconscious accepts it as truth!" Severus' vehement tone got a small smile from Harry, something the man was grateful for. "Now, I believe that we can actually use this to our advantage. I know you think Skeeter is an unreliable gossipmonger, but if you know how to deal with her she has her uses - and of course, I know how to deal with her. So, the question now becomes: what would you like to do about this?"

Harry thought quietly for a few minutes, seeming to make up his mind. As he decided his shoulders stiffened and his posture straightened, allowing his papa to guess what he had chosen but letting his son form words anyway.

"I want to get back at the old fool, and the moronic redhead who started this ball rolling. I think I want to do an interview with Skeeter, but only if you're there to enforce it if I can't talk about something. I want the Wizarding World to know the truth about the man they all look up to, about how said man left an innocent toddler on a doorstep overnight in November, about how that toddler grew up abused for something that is heavily celebrated in the Wizarding World. I want him to go down papa, and this is the first step."

Severus had never been prouder of his son than in that moment. The teenager was clearly terrified of letting the truth about his childhood get out, but he was going to do it anyway in order to at least start the downfall of the wretched old meddling fool who had been the cause of that miserable childhood. No matter what came of this, whether it ultimately helped the Dark or not, he vowed his son would know exactly how much he meant to the previously cold-hearted man.


	32. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Lovelies! Demon here to post for two reasons first I have finished my spring semester of college so yay I have more free time... Well until I get a job but that's just details. Next Elli and I have decided to start our weekly updates once again :) they are going to be on Saturdays, excepted for this one, since it's a little special so it's posted today (Friday) instead of tomorrow so no update tomorrow, but look for one next Saturday!
> 
> We do thank you for being so kind and understanding during our little break, this couldn't have continued without your love and support for this story. Also for all the kudos and comments that you leave behind just warms our hearts, and we couldn't have asked for better readers. So thank you! 
> 
> Enough from me, you have waited long enough for this so without further ado Chapter 31!

The next Hogsmeade weekend Harry and Pansy found themselves in Madam Puddifoot's tea shop enjoying a nice cup of hot tea. They chose this place to meet Skeeter because it was out of the way, and not many students showed up here on top of that they had very good tea selection.

“Pansy dear, when did you tell Skeeter to show up?” Harry asked setting down his green and silver tea cup in favor of picking up a finger sandwich.

“Ohh, I told her one, so we can relax a little and enjoy our cup of tea, so she should be here soon.” Pansy said taking a sip of her rose tea. Harry was enjoying some earl grey, since Draco got him hooked on this stuff.

The reason why Pansy was with Harry today instead of his Papa, was because it would have been strange to have him here while speaking with Skeeter, plus Pansy knew exactly what the women’s question would be, since she was the gossip queen and could very well turn the tables of Skeeter at a moments notice. Harry did love his Papa, but he would rather have Pansy silver tongue then his Papa’s frightening glare in this case.

“OH what do we have here, a date between a champion and a little snake? Juicy details, my readers would love this!” Came a voice behind them and a scratching of a quill taking notes of the scene before them, “A dangerous love between a Champion and a classmate, will the love blossom and grow or will the it will be called short with how dangerous and our lovely lady find her lover dead?”

Pansy just smiled sweetly at Skeeter, “Good evening Mrs. Skeeter, I am sad to inform you but this is just a cup of tea between friends,” Pansy let out wistful sigh, “My love sadly could not join us, for he was busy; but Harry was kind enough to offer me a cup so I would not spend this lovely weekend alone, so of course I accepted.”

Skeeter pouted, “Oh that is soo sad, woeful that this lovely Lady lad could not join, but here is a love triangle go on.”

Pansy shot Skeeter a very ice smile, one that gave her the rightful title of Ice Queen between the snakes, “Seeing as my love know I am here with Harry I wouldn’t call it a love triangle. What’s more Harry here is my escort as well as a brother of mine.” Skeeter finally got the hint this story was not worth writing and let out a sight before putting a very happy smile on her face.

“Well that doesn’t matter to me anyways! We are here to get the full story on Young Harry’s life outside Hogwarts as well as a little insight what has been happening behind those walls.”

It was Harry’s turn to speak, “That is right Mrs. Skeeter, I will tell you almost everything, I will exclude some details here and in there since I still need to come to terms with a few things. I have two things I ask of you since I am giving you such an opportunity. First being that I can to read what you write first and can make changes to details here and there.”

“I can’t allow that, Harry, for how can I ensure the readers that they will be getting the truth when you want to omit and change what you said.”

Harry just smirked, “You got that wrong Mrs. Skeeter, I want my story to be told exactly as I say it is no changing anything, yes I will omit some parts since I don’t want names and address to get out, but for the protection of myself and those who could be in this story. It’s you that will be changing words to either paint me as dangerous person or as a poor boy wanting attention. That is not what I am seeking with this article.”

“Then what are you look for if it’s neither of those things.” What Harry has said has gotten Skeeter intrigued most people use her to either pain someone in a bad light or for instant fame.

“As part of my story was leaked, and not by me, rumors have started, and I will like to either put some to rest or to confirm what they think.” Skeeter sat back blinking before she nodded her head confirming to rule one, “Thank you.” Harry smiled, “second request, please do not listen to anything the Headmaster Dumbledore nor those Red Heads, they are not trust worthy and are only looking for fame and to pass blame upon others when their plans do not go as planned.”

With that Skeeter just smiled evilly, “Now Mr. Potter I can’t do that if they have a story to be hold their voices should be told.”

“Now Mrs. Skeeter I do agree if they have something to say they can say it but make sure they are saying the whole truth. If not and they something I will expose a little secrete of yours Mrs. Skeeter.” With that Harry leaned forward and whispered something in her ear, making he face to turn a pale white.

“H-How do you know that.” She said in a whisper voice.

“Ohh I have my ways I am a Slytherin after all. Now why don’t we continue with our interview?” Harry took a sip of his now cool tea, “that is what you came for right?”

Skeeter cleared her throat, “Y-Yes, shall we start?”

* * * * _Magical Time skip_ * * * *

Harry found himself relaxing in front of his Papa’s fire place, finding himself breathing easy after the interview, if it hadn’t been for Pansy there might have been a few questions that would have thrown him in the deep end.

“How did everything go?” Severus asked his son as he walked in from his lab to see the young raven hair boy sitting front of the fire. He walked over and bent over the couch to place a kiss on the crown of his head before turning to the kitchen to wash his hands.

“I think everything went alright, there where a couple of question that if I did not answer right would have been painted in a bad light; it was Pansy that helped me by either calling Mrs. Skeeter out or whisper in my ear that it’s a trick question.” Harry smiled over at his Father, “It also helped with the information you gave me about our lovely Mrs. Skeeter. Now it’s just a waiting game to see if she obeys the rules we set up or if she will play with Dumbledore.”


	33. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! My turn to post this week, as Demon has stuff going on in her life. Not much to say really, except that I hope you all enjoy! I'm posting it early cos I've been up several hours and wanna nap, so idk if I'll be awake when our usual posting time is xD enjoy guys!

_**BOY-WHO-LIVED ABUSED, STOLEN FROM, AND TAKEN FROM HIS PARENT!** _

_Yes, dear readers, you saw that correctly! I, the lovely Rita Skeeter, was granted an interview with the young man who saved all our lives that fateful night in October 1981. The tales he told me shocked and horrified me, and I’m sure that by the end of this article you will join me in calling for those who mistreated our Saviour to be punished to the maximum! The story starts…_

 

* * *

 

Dumbledore was furious. There was no other word for it. It was a normal day; he was enjoying his breakfast as the post owls started to fly into the Great Hall. And that was the start of this horrible day. Every teacher and student who subscribed to the Daily Prophet had stared in shock at the headline before hastening to read the attached article. Within a few minutes, as the fastest readers finished, more and more glares started to be directed his way. He was at a loss as to the cause – obviously, something had been written about him in that article, but as he didn’t subscribe to that drivel, he had to wait for someone to see fit to fill him in. That soon came from none other than Minerva McGonagall.

 

“ALBUS! What have you done?!” The man in question pulled on his ‘genial grandfather’ mask, inwardly cursing whoever had spoken to the Prophet; if it was enough to have the normally stern-faced Head of Gryffindor yelling at him in the Great Hall (with all students present!) like a banshee – or worse, Molly Weasley! – it had to have been shocking. “I TOLD you they were the worst sort of Muggles, and you assured me that he would be loved and looked after! And more fool me for actually believing you!” Ah, so this was about the Potter brat. The great Albus Dumbledore didn’t know how, but somehow that nuisance was managing to foul up all his plans for this year. First by finding out his true parentage and embracing it, then by re-Sorting as a disgusting Slytherin, and then flourishing in his classes. He was supposed to be weak! He quickly turned his attention back to Minerva, vowing to punish the brat later, just in time to receive her goblet of pumpkin juice to his face. “And that’s the LEAST I’m going to do to you! Mark my words Albus, you hurt one of my Cubs, and now you’ll see why lionesses are so feared!” The woman then stood. “Forgive me children, you should not have had to witness that, although I do not regret my actions. In light of this article, and the no doubt many reactions each of you are having, classes are cancelled for today. If you have any questions or wish to speak to someone about the article, know that the Heads of Houses are always available. Please do not bother Mister Potter-Prince-Snape, as I for one will not punish him for defending himself from relentless questions. That’s all for now.” With that the cat Animagus stalked out of the teacher’s entrance, her robe billowing behind her in a manner reminiscent of the Potions Master everyone loved to hate.

 

It was now an hour after breakfast and Albus had retired (read: ran from the students yelling at him) to his office. He had blocked the Floo in his rooms after getting hold of a copy of the newspaper, realising that the DMLE might well come calling. Then he had given in to his rage and had a tantrum, destroying most of his office in a fit worthy of the world’s most troublesome toddler, just much more destructive because of his magic. This would annihilate a lot of his plans, and it was all because of that brat! Dumbledore, reminded of his anger, started destroying his office anew.

 

* * *

 

Severus and Harry decided to spend the day in the teacher’s rooms, both wanting to avoid the no doubt endless questions everyone had. They both felt fairly giddy, finally seeing a small measure of revenge against the ‘benevolent’ old man who had ruined their lives so spectacularly, but their frivolity soon came to an end when the man hissed in surprise and pain and clasped his left forearm.

 

Unfortunately, that was when the most unwelcome visitor appeared out of the Floo: Albus Almost-Disgraced Dumbledore. He hurried to the duo on the sofa, not asking or even speaking before he pulled his wand and began casting spells on his Potions Master. Harry was saying something, but Dumbledore was too focused on his spellwork to notice – or at least he was until his wand left his hand and he looked up to see a furious teenager holding two wands, both aimed at the man who had once claimed one of them.

 

“Harry, what are you doing? Return my wand, I must see what is happening with Voldemort!” Couldn’t the boy see this was essential? And to have the audacity to take his wand! The old man glared at the insolent teen; oh yes, he would be punished severely. Daring to take the wand of the greatest wizard since Merlin?! The boy would pay!

 

“NO! You couldn’t have just asked what was happening, like a normal person would? Oh, I forgot, you’re not a normal person, you’re Albus Thinks-He’s-Fucking-Fantastic Dumbledore! Didn’t the paper today teach you anything, sir?” he asked mockingly. “You’re on your way out, old man. Now leave, before I call on Hogwarts to banish you forever!”

 

Reluctantly the old man had to concede defeat and leave the dungeon rooms. When he had asked for his wand back, however, he had received a glare so cold it was remarkable that he had managed to retain control of his bowels.

 

Standing outside the door, Dumbledore sighed heavily. Clearly Voldemort was stronger, perhaps even already in a new body, and he’d just had his wand taken like an errant child – to say nothing of the beating his reputation and influence had taken due to this morning’s article.

 

It was starting to become clearer, but Dumbledore couldn’t see it yet. Regardless of his perception or imperceptions of it, it was now fact: the Light was doomed.


	34. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Lovelies my turn to post! Hope you all had a good week~ don't have much to put here so I hope you enjoy the chapter!

The day before the final Task was due to occur, a passer-by who was innocent of the knowledge about what was happening would have been able to perceive the tension between the three different schools and the opposing factions of Hogwarts supporters (the difference between these two groups simply being whether they supported Harry or Cedric). Harry was very nervous, spending any extra time he had either studying with his friends, learning spells and hexes that would probably help in the long run, or with his dad, who not only taught him a wider variety of spells but also helped to improve his physical movements. He could tell that the other champions were also feeling the strain as the Tri-Wizard Tournament was drawing to a close, each off studying while skipping classes (which of course they were excused from for now); their tempers were getting shorter as the hour of the Third Task grew nearer. All in all it was an exciting moment when, on the morning of the Task, there was an announcement made that the champions were excused from their classes that day in order to spend time with their families.

Harry let out a sigh: the macabre nature of that announcement pulled on his mood despite his best efforts, and it was only made worse by the fact that his papa would be spending the morning teaching. Thankfully he had the afternoon off due to it being scheduled for the seventh years, who would be using the time to continue preparing the altered recipes they would brew for their NEWTs. So Harry was adrift for the morning, either wandering the castle alone while his friends were in class or spending more time in the library preparing for later that day.

That was his plan, at least until a large black Grim came bounding into the Great Hall, going right up to Harry and knocking him clear off the bench he was sitting on. There were screams from the surrounding students and gasps from the usually-stoic Slytherins, all of them unsure what to do as they watched Harry - get licked to death by the Grim?! The musky, slightly unpleasant smell of dog breath permeated the air near the duo, causing a few students to subtly move a bit further away as the Grim smothered Harry in slobbery kisses; it was panting and seeming to grin as Harry laughed, attempting to push it away.

"You stupid Mutt, get off me!" Harry managed to say between laughs; he then felt a pair of arms reach beneath the still-prone teen, gently lifting the boy to his feet.

"Now Snuffles, that was not the greeting we agreed on when venturing out to meet Harry!" a warm voice chastised the unrepentant Grim.

"Remus!" Harry squealed in delight before hugging the sandy-haired man tightly.

Remus laughed before quickly hugging Harry back. "Hello cub. I hope everything is all right?" His voice was very warm and friendly as he disentangled himself before lightly tugging on the boy's raven hair. "First of all, we are insanely proud of all that you have accomplished, but at the same time we are disappointed that you've failed to contact us about any of it... We're going to have words about this Hadrian Severitus Potter-Prince-Snape!"

Harry gulped. One thing that most of the students didn't know about Remus was that he was a mother hen of the worst sort, and once he used your full name you knew you were in trouble. Sirius knew what it was like, having been the recipient of many talks prefaced by Remus saying his full name; if dogs could laugh, he certainly would be at his pup's discomfort. Instead he gave a bark that was eerily similar to his laugh when in human form, earning a glare from Harry.

And that was the last anyone saw of Harry for the day: him being pulled out of the Great Hall by the former DADA professor, a grinning Grim on their heels. Harry was casting semi-desperate glances around the room, knowing he was in for a scolding or two and wanting to escape that; as the trio reached the doors, he cast a pleading look at his papa, pouting when he saw the man smirk and lift his coffee much in what was probably an unconcerned toast to his survival. After all, Severus knew that the Wolf and the Mutt would never really hurt his son, or they would fear the retribution of the youngest Potions Master to ever collect his certificate...

* * *

It was a few feet from the Great Hall that the trio ducked behind a nondescript tapestry into a room that was long forgotten (or rather, forgotten by humans, as the lack of dust clearly showed that House Elves had cleaned it recently). Sirius wasted no time in turning back to his human form, giving the young wizard a rib-crushing hug before pulling a Remus.

"Hadrian Severitus Potter-Prince-Snape, I'm very disappointed that you haven't contacted us, we only found out what was happening at this school via the Daily Prophet, of all ways! I thought Remus and I were like family to you, but all of our letters went unanswered, we heard not a peep from you! We were so worried about everything going on, especially when we found out you were in this Merlin-damned Tournament!" Remus stayed silent, just nodding in agreement of Sirius' points as the man continued ranting.

"Woah, woah! Pause for a second please!" Harry said, trying to halt the onslaught of disappointment. "You wrote me letters?" Both men's eyes narrowed as they nodded, affirming that they had both written to the teen. "Well I haven't received a single word from either of you!" Harry bristled, pissed off that apparently his life was still being controlled. "I've been wanting to write to you guys, but I wasn't sure how much you knew about everything and was kinda scared that you wouldn't want me in your lives anymore because of who my papa is." Harry looked at the floor sheepishly; his fears seemed silly now that he'd spoken them aloud. "But now I learn that you both wrote to me, and someone had the audacity to stop that post reaching me! I wonder how much other post I've missed out on? Oh for Merlin's sake, will my life ever NOT be controlled?!"

Remus blinked, absorbing and processing the information that sparked his cub's outrage. "We'll get back to the blocking of your post in a minute. What do you mean you didn't think we would want you anymore? You're my cub and Sirius' pup, that will never change!"

Harry shrank in on himself a bit, twisting his fingers into his shirt much like a small child in trouble would. "Well I didn't know if you knew that Severus was my father, or how you would take it because I know how much you three hated each other. I was scared that he would leave me for talking to you, or that you guys would leave because I'm his son, or both." Him explaining his fears in more detail confirmed how silly and childish those fears were; he knew his papa would never do something like that, and that Sirius and Remus loved him very much, but his insecurities weren't going to magically disappear, even in light of the fact that he would never have to return to the Dursleys'.

Harry felt himself being engulfed on both sides in a massive 'Harry-sandwich' hug. "You silly pup! We both love you dearly, and nothing could keep us from you! Of course we knew of your parentage, the truth not the lies that became common knowledge, but there is a long story behind our feud with Severus. Basically, we thought he was cheating on your dad, and then got all upset when we believed James had finally managed to do something about it, i.e. leave. We now know the truth, or at least parts of it and are figuring out the rest. It was outside manipulation acting on true love, and it had a very tragic ending. Now, however, we are just happy that you and your father have each other. James would be so proud of his two boys." And there, surrounded by the first two people he considered father figures, and hearing that his dad would be proud of him, Harry couldn't hold it in anymore and began crying.


	35. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh guys I am so sorry I didn't post this yesterday!!! I completely lost all track of when I was supposed to post, so I'm very sorry. However, the new chapter is here! I just wanted to say that the conversation with the sphinx is mostly taken from online versions of what is said in the books, and no copyright infringement is intended. That goes for all these chapters actually, and I'm not sure we've said it before but we're not J K Rowling and do not own any of the characters, situations etc. Right, I'll shut up and let you read now!

__

That evening, it was a more relaxed Harry who turned up to dinner. The day spent with the remaining Marauders had been exactly what he’d needed without even realising it. They’d even spent some time that afternoon with his papa, and while it wasn’t particularly comfortable at the beginning they’d managed to talk it out so that now the three could at least be civil, although it appeared that Remus was aiming for a friendly acquaintanceship, judging by his efforts to engage Severus in academic talk. Harry had to admit that the illogical fear of losing one or more of them was probably a lot of what had been causing him tension, without him even realising it. But now that he knew for sure that he wouldn’t lose any of the three men who were his parent or parental figures, he was a lot less stressed. Oh sure, he still wasn’t exactly cool as a cucumber considering that he knew he would be fighting for his life an hour after dinner, but at the same time the underlying tension had completely left him.

 

He quickly made his way into the Great Hall only to stop in complete shock: the two remaining Marauders (one in human form, one as a canine) were casually sitting at the Slytherin table amongst those he was close to in his year. The complete unexpectedness of the situation put Harry into a form of shock, one which he only came out of as someone pushed their way past him. He scowled as he looked to see who it was; of course it was Ronald Weasley, the bastard (although that wasn’t particularly fair to Mr and Mrs Weasley) who had completely dropped him as a friend after the revelation of his true parentage and the way he easily and comfortably slipped into Slytherin. Shaking his head to clear it of the unwanted negativity seeing his ex-friend had brought, Harry made his way to his dog-parents and friends, sitting down and happily joining in the (admittedly bizarre) conversation taking place.

 

It seemed like only a minute had passed, yet the dishes were back to their sparkling clean state and Dumbledore was standing up, waiting for the Hall to quiet in order to speak. After a few moments, the wanted hush occurred, and the barmy old wizard began to talk.

 

“All right, now that dinner is over, please could our champions, and their families if they wish, make their way down to the Quidditch pitch. We shall all join them shortly, after they’ve had a chance to speak with their families for a few minutes before the challenge commences. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that moment has arrived: the Final Task for this year’s TriWizard Tournament!”

 

Soon enough Harry was making his way in the darkening evening, Remus by his side, a grinning (but still nervous for his pup) Grim just behind them. The ex-DADA professor was trying to make light of the situation, knowing that nerves would be kicking in soon, and was trying to ameliorate that. He knew that as soon as his cub entered the maze they had almost reached he would be alone, but he was never truly alone as long as those who loved him were thinking of him. They finally saw Dumbledore making his way down from the school, a few stragglers hurrying in front of him, and realised that this was it. The time had come. The Third Task was about to begin.

 

* * *

 

A few minutes’ worth of tedious speech from the Headmaster were done, and now the challenges the champions would be facing seemed all too real. Harry had mostly tuned out Dumbledore’s words, but he had paid enough attention to realise that Hagrid had put some of his ‘pets’ inside the maze for the champions to battle. ‘Great,’ he thought. ‘Just one more thing to thank him for!’ After all, Hagrid was Dumbledore’s man through and through, regardless that he wasn’t completely human. As such, Harry knew he had the ‘esteemed’ Headmaster to thank for the difficulties he and the other three champions were about to face.

 

“Now, as to the order in which the champions will enter the maze, it is quite simple. The scores from the previous challenges combined will determine the order in which the champions begin, thus gaining them an advantage over their fellows with lower scores. As it stands, to enter first will be Harry Potter and Viktor Krum, as they are currently tied for first place with sixty-five points each!” The crowd roared as though this was news to them; Harry had to put in some serious effort to not roll his eyes out of his head at their apparent stupidity. “Next to enter the challenge will be Cedric Diggory, the other Hogwarts champion, with his score of fifty-six!” Again with the roaring crowd. If this carried on, Harry would have a major headache before the task even began. “And last to begin the Task will be Fleur Delacour, our only female champion, with her score of forty-seven points!” And the crowd screamed their approval; quickly glancing at those who were to face this challenge with him, Harry realised that he wasn’t the only one who was fed up with the seemingly never-ending announcement that mostly just recapped what everyone already knew. “However!” came the irritating voice of Ludo Bagman once more. “The winner of this challenge will be the one to first reach the TriWizard Cup, currently in the middle of the maze, which will earn the winner one hundred points and Portkey them back to the entrance of the maze! Therefore, any one of our champions could still be the winner! If any champion should find themselves unable to go on before the Cup has been reached, they simply need to shoot red sparks into the air – members of Hogwarts’ esteemed staff will be patrolling the borders of the maze, and thus will quickly remove any champion who shoots their red sparks. And I believe that’s it! So, Misters Krum and Potter,” Harry snorted that they still couldn’t get his name right, “please stand in front of the entrance of the maze! As soon as you step in you will be on different paths, so you will not encounter the other unless you do so further within the maze. Mister Diggory will be entering five minutes after you, and Miss Delacour five minutes after that. And with that said, let this challenge BEGIN!”

 

Harry immediately sprinted into the maze, pausing after a moment to get his bearings. He had entered facing east, so he knew he should continue east as much as possible to reach the Cup. He might not want to be in this Tournament, but he was damned if he wasn’t going to try his hardest!

 

* * *

 

The maze was eerily silent as soon as Harry stepped foot in it. The hedges rustled in a wind that wasn’t there, adding to the creepy feel of this Task. Harry kept running, trying to stick to as straight a path as possible – he knew that likely meant there would be more challenges in his way, but with the lessons from his papa and studying with his friends he was sure he could manage. After all, how hard could it be?

 

* * *

 

Harry was cursing his earlier thoughts. Not thirty seconds after they had crossed his mind, he had come across his first obstacle. And it wasn’t something easy, nope. It was a fully-grown Blast-Ended Skrewt! Those things had been menacing enough in the tales passed around the Slytherin common room, and those stories were when the things were much younger! It had taken Harry a moment to come up with a viable plan, which the Skrewt had used to propel itself towards him and had almost taken him out with a vicious swipe to his legs. However, Harry had called on the physical training his papa had taught him, and slid under the beast, casting a cutting spell as he did so. The underbelly of the Skrewt wasn’t nearly as armoured as the top side, and so Harry had grievously wounded it, allowing him to continue without fear of it chasing him.

 

He couldn’t begin to guess how much time had passed, but he knew he wanted to get the Cup soon, if only so that nobody else could grab the victory from him. By his estimation, he should be nearly at the centre of the maze, and he silently begged Merlin that the Skrewt would be the hardest challenge to pass. However it seemed that Fate was laughing at him again, for there in his path, the one that he thought would lead to the Cup quickest, was a Sphinx. He bowed to it, not wanting to risk angering the XXXX animal, and straightened when it (she?) began to speak.

 

“You are very near your goal, young wizard. The quickest way to that which you seek is past me; yet it is not that easy. For me to move out of your way, you must first answer the riddle I pose. Answer correctly, and I move aside for you to pass. Answer wrongly, and I will attack. Choose not to answer and you may go on your way, for I will not attack but nor will I move aside.”

 

Harry nodded. That seemed fair, in a Tournament where most things just wanted to eat him. Actually, he wasn’t sure what the Skrewt had wanted, but he hadn’t hung about to find out! “All right, fair lady. Could I please hear your riddle?”

 

“It goes thusly,” the sphinx replied.

“ _I can help you clean your shirt;_

_I can fall and not get hurt._

_Look for me to beat the heat;_

_up I can run without my feet._ ”

 

Harry’s first thought was of soap – but as he ran through the riddle in his head, he knew that wouldn’t help him ‘beat the heat’. So what else was used to clean shirts? A few minutes passed, and he knew he had to answer, lest the sphinx become enraged and attack despite him not giving an incorrect answer. His throat was hurting from all the panting he’d done due to running and magical exertion, and he wished he could have a drink… Drink. Water! Of course! He quickly went through the riddle: it helped clean shirts; waterfalls didn’t hurt the water; a drink of water would cool you down on a hot day; and water could run in any direction without having any feet. He nodded, sure of his answer.

 

“Fair lady, the answer to your riddle is water.”

 

A beat. Two. Then the sphinx got up, stretched in an utterly feline way, and moved aside in order for him to pass.

 

“Thank you, fair lady!” Harry said before sprinting past her. He could see down the passageway, a dim blue glow growing with each step he took. This was it, he was going to get the cup! So he kept running, wanting to do something truly worthwhile, something he could be proud of, not remembered for something he couldn’t even recollect. And this was his chance...


	36. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Lovelies! My turn this week, and thought I would post this before I go to work <3 We have big news! We have finished writing all the chapters for DSS and are so happy to bring this news to you! This has a total of 40 chapters so we are very close to the end, just 5 chapters left. Anyways enough from me, on to the chapter!

_So, he kept running, wanting to do something truly worthwhile, something he could be proud of, not remembered for something he couldn’t even recollect. And this was his chance…_

It was right in sight, just a short run to reach the Cup! A smile graced Harry’s lips – he would be free of this stupid Tournament and Maze! This would be the end, after this he could have a peaceful summer with his papa and dog-parents. Harry took a few strides forwards towards the Cup.

A bright red flash caught Harry’s eye; he quickly ducked and rolled underneath the red jet. He pulled his wand to see Viktor Krum standing over a stunned Fleur Delacour, his eyes glazed over much like a drug addict. Harry fired off a few quick spells in Krum’s direction, hoping to draw his attention away from Delacour; even if she was his competition, Krum looked like he was about to kill her.

With Krum’s full attention on him Harry took off running, he wanted to get him away from Delacour even if that meant that he had to run away from the goal of this thing. He heard Krum’s footsteps thundering behind him as he took a turn blindly, which was a big mistake. An Acromantula now stood in front of him, its beady eyes seeming to narrow in on Harry. It lunged forwards, its deadly pincers out; Harry quickly sidestepped the monster spider, but not fast enough for one of its fangs tore through his trouser leg and grazed the skin underneath.

Harry felt the venom burning instantly as it touched his skin and entered the wound. ‘Great, now look what happens when I try to be a nice person!’ he thought bitterly. It was the loud footsteps of Krum that brought him back to the present, the Acromantula turning its attention to the newcomer. Krum, not paying attention to the giant fucking spider, fired a Bombarda spell straight at the ground underneath Harry. The blast shot Harry a few feet back, coming down hard and wrong; a snap could be heard, and pain shot through Harry’s already injured leg. A broken bone, great – this wouldn’t get any better. The Acromantula now started to take on Krum, who was expertly holding off the creature without even breaking a sweat, firing curses and hexes in all directions without mumbling a single word.

Harry lay on the ground looking up into the dusky sky, the colours of purple, pink and blue all mixing together as he sun slowly set somewhere in the distance. His thoughts were circling around; wondering if this was really worth the risk? What would he get out of this? Some fancy cup, a title, and money? Well bringing the glory of being a TriWizard winner to his House would be a plus, it would show that they are smart and clever and not cheats… Well not right now, since he was a ‘cheat’ for apparently putting his name in the Goblet. Anyway, he could just call it quits now; any sensible person would with a broken leg, Acromantula venom in his system, and being magically, physically and mentally exhausted. No-one would blame him. So why was he doing this still?

A grunt of pain pulled him from his thoughts as he looked over at Krum, who was now in a losing battle against the Acromantula, the mighty animal having shaken off the spells that were still being thrown its way. With a sigh Harry reluctantly got up as his mind provided the answer to the question it had posed a few moments earlier. ‘It’s because I want to show people my true strength and now what has been given to me. I want to prove myself to be more than the Golden Boy. I want to show them who Hadrian Severitus Potter-Prince-Snape really is.’ With a quick spell to ensure that neither his spells nor his magic would be noticeable for a few minutes, he fired dark spells in quick succession, making quick work of the Acromantula – he didn’t kill it, but put a very strong sleep spell on the creature. To Krum he sent a strong regular stunner, making sure that he couldn’t cast another spell in his general direction.

Harry let out a sigh as he slowly limped his way over to Krum, having transfigured a sturdy branch from the hedges to use as a crutch. He gave the prone boy a good kick in the stomach to ensure that he wasn’t faking being stunned (and maybe because he wanted a little bit of revenge for getting him attacked by the Acromantula in the first place). With a curt nod, satisfied that the young man truly was unconscious, he picked up Krum’s wand and fired off the red sparks that would remove him from the arena, before setting off once more.

*             *             *

It wasn’t too much longer before he was back where he had started this insane detour, and Delacour was still lying there on the cold hard ground. Harry walked over to her and picked up her wand before firing off the red sparks into the sky. There, those two were taken care off, all that was left now was the Hufflepuff champion who he hadn’t seen since before he entered the maze. Harry smirked at the thought that might be just in a corner somewhere, hiding from all these nasty creatures – not that Harry would blame him if he was. However, with the removal of the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons champions, it was now certain to be a Hogwarts victory; the only question that remained was whether it would be a Slytherin or Hufflepuff who won.

Harry started his limping walk over to the Cup, the soft blue glow emanating from it and promising the safe return to the entrance of the maze, where his papa could help with his broken leg and he venom that was coursing through his veins. The hand not using the crutch was outstretched, slowly inching closer to the Cup with every limping step Harry took. It was then that the other Hogwarts champion made an appearance, crashing through the branches of some hedges and running headlong into Harry. It was a comical sight for one to see the Hufflepuff champion’s eyes growing as big as saucers when he realised what he had done. In the process of their collision they had both fallen, having knocked the Cup off its pedestal due to their proximity to it; the Cup was lying just a few inches to the side of the two teens. Harry let out a loud groan as the stupid git put weight on his bad leg.

“I am so sorry Harry, I was running but the hedges started to close in on me, I was just trying to make it out alive, I was so focused on that I didn’t notice you!” Diggory said in a rambling explanation for just why he had collided with Harry.

“Just get off me!” Harry snapped, in too much pain to deal with a fear-stricken, apologetic mess of a Badger.

“Oh right, sorry mate,” Diggory said with a blush as he quickly rolled off of Harry, trying not to hurt the younger boy any more. Both of them took a few breaths, Harry dealing with the new levels of pain the collision had brought, before both teens realised they were within reach of what they were here for – the Cup. Both of their eyes snapped to the pedestal and realised the prize was no longer sitting upon it; they then both began to frantically look around for the blasted thing, wanting to get out of this bloody maze (now literally, as Harry’s wounded leg was bleeding a fair bit). At the same time they both saw how close the Cup was – it was within reach! Both champions lunged for it, Diggory once again diving over Harry in the hopes of touching it first and thus claiming the victory. And then there was a great flash of blue light as the Portkey activated to human touch…


	37. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys I'm so sorry this is late, especially with there being a cliffhanger last week! Today has kinda gotten away from me, so I lost track of time, but I'm super sorry!!! Good news is, Demon and I have started talking about part 2 of this story, but it is looking like it'll be several months until it starts being posted cos her life is really busy right now and I'm working on the rewrite, plus we want a good backlog of chapters written before we start posting. Just seen that our fic has been added to a collection called 'Harry Potter Must-Reads', thank you so much!! I'm properly excited!!! Okay I'm gonna shut up now, I hope all y'all enjoy!!!

Harry and Cedric were finally able to let go of the Cup Portkey as it deposited them none-too-gently at their destination – unfortunately, their surroundings were not that of the entrance to the maze they were both expecting; instead, they seemed to be in a graveyard. Harry looked around silently, trying to guess why they were brought here and if it was a simple mistake, thinking furiously, but Cedric inadvertently broke their stealth when he spoke.

 

“Harry?” the bumbling Hufflepuff asked. “Where are we? Why are we here?”

 

As soon as his name had left the older boy’s mouth Harry had lunged at him to clap a hand over his mouth, but with his injuries he was too late, and the boy carried on until he had asked his questions. Harry made frantic shushing gestures, but guessed that with dusk becoming a memory the darkness was too prevalent for the ‘Puff to see. Nonetheless he was not happy that the older teen had given away their presence, even if it was expected as Harry presumed (changing a Portkey’s destination might not be difficult, but it would have been needed to be done by an agent of Voldemort, and that couldn’t have been easy at Hogwarts seeing as it was the stronghold of the Light). 

 

The next moment a red Stunner flew out of nowhere, narrowly avoiding Harry and instead striking the older teen next to him. As the ‘Puff went instantly unconscious, a familiar figure began to make his way over to where Harry still lay, unable to rise due to his worsening injuries and the weight of some of Cedric’s body.

 

“Now then, Mr Potter-Prince-Snape, we have been waiting for you!” the figure said as it finally became clear who it was.

 

“Professor Moody! But – there’s no way Voldemort managed to recruit you,” Harry said, thinking fast to try and figure out what was going on. “So that means you must be someone else, probably under PolyJuice, which is why papa was complaining about boomslang skin going missing this year! And you can’t just be anybody, you have to work for the Dark Lord, and be someone close to him and in his trust for you to be arranging what I presume to be his resurrection?” Harry looked up, having worked as far as he could with that trail of logic.

 

“Correct, Mr Potter-Prince-Snape. Might I take your use of the honorific for my Lord to mean that he is, instead, our Lord?” the figure replied. Harry nodded distractedly, still wanting to figure out who the person was, but not getting a chance before the body started to change in a way that most certainly didn’t seem natural. A few moments later it had stopped, and the well-known visage of Harry’s DADA professor was gone in favour of a shorter, lean man. The man looked slightly familiar, like Harry had met one of his relatives before, but the resemblance was so slight that he couldn’t place it. Instead, he just waited for the man to introduce himself.

 

“Ah, sorry about that!” the fake Moody said buoyantly once the potion had completely worn off and he had regained his balance from the shifting of his body. “Now, let’s get you up, eh?” Saying that he carefully lifted Harry from beneath the unconscious Hufflepuff, putting the teen on his feet but not letting go as the crutch had not been Portkeyed with them. “I saw that nasty Acromantula get you, and Krum! Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall. But I really should introduce myself! I’m Barty Crouch, Junior, and I am indeed one of our Lord’s most trusted. He is here tonight, although the main purpose for this – abduction, I guess? – was for him to regain his former body, you were quite correct in that. However, now that you follow our Lord, things had to be tweaked slightly; would you be willing to donate some blood in order for our Lord to rise again? I need to set up a few things, so I’m going to prop you against one of the graves while I do so, all right? I don’t need your answer straight away, so take some time to think of it while I prepare. Oh, and I almost forgot!” Barty quickly grabbed something from within his robes before passing it to Harry, who saw that it was a bezoar, almost certain to stop the Acromantula venom from having any further effect. Barty also splinted his broken leg, so although he couldn’t walk on it any more he wouldn’t unknowingly injure it more.

 

“Thank you,” Harry finally replied after forcing the bezoar down his throat, being propped against a nearby grave before Barty went about collecting things, which included a cauldron large enough for a fully-grown human to stretch out in comfortably. As he watched Barty work Harry thought. ‘He really is my Lord, I’d already accepted that after talking with papa. And I do agree with his side more than the Light, hence me accepting that he is my Lord too. So basically, I can either decline Barty’s offer, rejecting that side of myself and possibly being killed when my Lord does return to his proper form, or I could accept and be there for my Lord’s rebirth. Well really, that’s a no-brainer!’ That thought, Harry knew what his answer would be.

 

“Barty?” The man in question looked over. “I’m ready. I’ll do it.”

 

* * *

 

There was a brief conversation as Barty finished preparing the ritual, but before long everything was set and the golem that currently housed Lord Voldemort was reclining in the cauldron, most of its body being covered by the potion that Barty poured in over the golem. He activated the rune circle surrounding the cauldron with a drop of his blood, and they sparked to life, glowing faintly as they worked to contain the Dark magics that were being used for this resurrection. Harry had already filled a small vial with his blood for Barty to use, as he couldn’t break the ritual circle without massive damage and repercussions, so the teen made himself as comfortable as he could to watch what would be the no-doubt glorious resurrection of their Lord. This truly was something magnificent, and Harry felt privileged to be here for it.

 

“Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!” Saying that, Barty dropped the recently-unearthed femur into the cauldron, adding it to the potion and golem-body of Voldemort that were already in there. “Flesh of the servant, willingly sacrificed, you will revive your master!” And Barty paused to brace himself before slicing off his left (and thus non-dominant) hand. Taking a moment to breathe through the pain, Barty then continued. “Blood of the ally, offered in peace, you will resurrect your friend.” Slowly dripping Harry’s donated blood into the cauldron, both Barty and the teen were overwhelmed by a bright light as the ritual completed, the light temporarily blinding the pair. And as it died, a most pleasing sight was revealed – that of the Dark Lord Voldemort, standing in a renewed body that resembled his younger self, once more ready to conquer the world...


	38. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Ello lovelies! I don't really have much to say then I hope you enjoy the chapter!!

Both Harry and Barty stared at the newly-resurrected Dark Lord, who was getting used to having a body once more; they blushed in tandem as they suddenly realised that the ritual did not conjure any clothes, and so the most feared Dark Lord since Grindlewald was currently in his birthday suit. They wasted no time in averting their eyes from his well-sculpted body so that they were not caught staring, thus avoiding an awkward moment. Although privately both witnesses agreed that Lord Voldemort looked very good, especially for someone who just spent over a decade as a spirit…

“Barty, I would like my wand,” Voldemort said, almost seeming to sense the discomfort that arose from the fact that he was completely nude. Barty quickly produced a wand from within his robes before presenting it to the Dark Lord; there was a strong gust of wind as the wand was reunited with its wizard, a strong static feeling surrounding the trio. With a wave of his wand, Voldemort was now clothed in a form-fitting crimson robe. He ran his hands down his chest and through his hair, taking a large breath of the crisp night air before opening the ruby eyes he had closed upon being reunited with his wand.

“The ritual was a success; I must thank you Barty, my loyal servant, and you Harry, for the blood willingly given. Without your help I would never have been able to return to this, my true form,” the Dark Lord addressed the two standing in front of him, Barty sinking to a kneeling position in order to show his respect and gratitude that their Lord had indeed returned. Harry, although being thankful that Voldemort had indeed returned to them, merely inclined his head – he really didn’t want to aggravate his leg wound more than it already had been.

“Barty! Rise, my loyal, and come to me.” Barty moved to the man’s side before kneeling once again. “Give me your arm,” the Dark Lord ordered; the servant immediately complied, raising his right arm to his Lord, assuming that he would want to summon his other followers. To his shock the scarlet-eyed man sighed in what could only be called exasperation as he said, “Your left arm, Barty; I wish to reward your faithful service this evening, and for the entirety of this academic year.” The subservient man lifted his head, showing his thankfulness as he raised what used to be his left hand. The Dark Lord clasped a strong hand around his wrist, only slightly above where the limb abruptly ended; Barty let out a pained hiss, trying with all his might to not tug his hand back, his body shaking in pain and hurt-based sweat beading at his hairline. Voldemort looked at his follower, seemingly to check that he was all right to continue, before waving his wand, murmuring a spell under his breath. A silver mist erupted from the tip of his wand and proceeded to encase Barty’s wrist and the area his hand used to occupy; after a tense moment the mist slowly solidified and changed to a silver hand. Barty stared at it in wonder, slowly curling and uncurling the fingers and rotating the wrist.

“Thank you, my Lord! Thank you!” Barty said, his eyes brimming with tears at how good it felt to both be reunited with his master and be rewarded by the man. He bowed deeply before shuffling backwards to a more respectful distance, one that would allow the Dark Lord and the teen to converse in privacy.

Ruby eyes then turned to meet jade green. “To say that I was surprised to hear that my supposed mortal enemy held a dark secret, one that could change the tides of this war, would be an understatement. I was sceptical about the switch in your allegiances; I even considered that it might be a trick from that old fool Dumbledore. But tonight, you have proved yourself worthy, young Harry. For that, I would reward you too.” Harry’s eyebrows shot up nearly to his hairline in his shock; the Dark Lord was rewarding him?! Voldemort merely chuckled at the smaller man. “It is a shock, isn’t it, for one who has grown up with tales of my insanity and cruelty. One might even think that this eve and its ritual has seen me stripped of even more of my sanity. No, that is not so; I reward all my supporters when they have accomplished beyond what I expected, whether that follower is Marked or not. So, Harry, what shall your reward be?”

Harry blinked owlishly before speaking, taking his time as his mind was running very slowly – something he attributed to being poisoned by the Acromantula’s venom, as well as shock that he was even being offered a reward. After a few long minutes, he finally spoke. “At this moment in time, my Lord, there is nothing that I can think of that I would want. I’m surprised to receive a reward at all; merely being here for the glorious moment you returned to us would have been enough. That said, could I please defer my reward, so that I may ask for something suitable when the situation arises?” He barely breathed as he waited for the response to his request; frankly, Harry was surprised he wasn’t getting cursed for the audacity he had to ask such a thing – then again, that was based on the stories Dumbledore and the Gryffindors had told him, so he probably shouldn’t use them as a foundation on what Voldemort was really like.

“Very well, my young snake. You have showed great wisdom in choosing this option; only one other has ever dared ask something similar, and that was your father. It’s not particularly surprising that you would request an option like his. Now, we must work out how you will return to the old fool without him suspecting I have returned. Barty!” The man hastened back over, seeing that the two were finished with their prior conversation. “Do you have any ideas as to how our young friend may return to that old fool’s school, without raising any suspicion as to where he has been?”

“I have given it some thought, my Lord,” the man disguised as the DADA professor replied. “I have several different options for you to choose from. In my opinion, the simplest would be…”


	39. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,
> 
> My turn to post this week cos Demon is at work all day - boo for her =( but it means I get to chat to you all again which is nice xD sorry it's running late, I genuinely didn't realise it's 9.30pm for me cos it's still daylight outside xD Ummm don't think there's anything I particularly need to say for this chapter, except of course that neither Demon nor I are the lovely JK xD I am proud to say that this chapter is not a cliffhanger!!! Sorry for how many of the recent chapters have been, but as I've mentioned in a few comment replies that's just how Musey wrote the chapters xD also guys thanks so much for every comment, as I'm usually the one who replies (due to Demon being busy with work/college so much) it really warms my heart to read each and every one. If I don't reply, it normally isn't that I haven't read them, but more that I don't know how to respond! So i'm just saying that for everyone who has commented - and particularly those who have been here since Demon and I started posting this fic - THANKS A MILLION! Have some cookies *throws a whole bunch of cookies in the air and hopes they get to everywhere there's a fan* xD
> 
> Okay this has gone on a fair bit longer than I thought it would, so I'll shut up and let you read the chapter now. I hope you enjoy! And remember that comments are bae xD

_“I have given it some thought, my Lord,” the man disguised as the DADA professor replied. “I have several different options for you to choose from. In my opinion, the simplest would be…_ to have young Harry and the other boy take the Portkey back to Hogwarts, obliviating the boy of the entire encounter and coming up with a suitable excuse for Harry to use as to why the device did not take the winner to the expected place, and what has happened in the,” he checked the time with a tempus spell, “hour and thirty-seven minutes since then. I think it would be best if we set the co-ordinates to be somewhere in the Forbidden Forest, instead of to here, and say that Harry and the other one simply got lost as they were trying to find their way back to the Quidditch pitch/maze.”

 

Voldemort slowly nodded, looking thoughtful. “I believe that would work best Barty, thank you. I will obliviate the boy and place memories of him and Harry wandering the Forest in confusion, to supplement our story.” With that said, the Dark Lord walked away from the duo, going to where Cedric Diggory was still lying, sprawled out in between the orderly rows of tombstones that filled the cemetery they were all in. A few wand movements were all that was needed in order to correct the boy’s memories, not even requiring him to be brought back to consciousness – thankfully, or he would have a lot of questions before being obliviated.

 

A few more minutes were all that was required for the Portkey’s co-ordinates to be altered; before reviving Cedric, Barty took another dose of Polyjuice, thus transforming him back to the appearance of Alastor ‘Mad-Eye’ Moody. Harry looked on at the change without being able to look away from the gruesome sight. Shortly, Voldemort departed and left what seemed to be an ex-Auror and Harry standing near the still-unconscious form of the older Hufflepuff. Harry sent Barty on ahead of him, advising him to “give a good explanation for where he was!” with a cheeky grin. Barty grumbled something about ‘incorrigible brats’ as he left, using a Portkey the Dark Lord had created to transport himself back to Hogwarts – the Portkey was specifically designed to Port him to a shadowed corner of the Quidditch pitch; from there Barty could claim he was keeping an eye on the competition and being wary of any potential screw-ups. And a few moments after his departure, Harry took the Portkey to the Forbidden Forest with Cedric, who was still unconscious. As soon as they had landed, Harry awoke the Hufflepuff, pretending that nothing had happened and that the boy hadn’t even been unconscious – which he knew would be backed up by the older boy’s own memories. Shortly after they arrived back, Professors Snape and Flitwick came across them, much to Harry’s relief – he might not have been scared upon the resurrection of the Dark Lord, but he didn’t fancy trying to make their way from the Forest without any further damage; as it was, his leg was feeling worse by the minute. Harry sent a smirk to his papa when the others weren’t looking, confirming that their plan had indeed gone accordingly and the Dark Lord was risen once more. With that confirmation, the four wizards made their way back to the maze, Flitwick muttering about incompetent people making Portkeys that led to a dangerous Forest.

 

*             *             *

 

Harry gratefully took the pain potion that was given to him by his papa; the Headmaster had kept them down on the Quidditch pitch for far longer than he had expected, given that both students were apparently unaware of what Dumbledore had expected to happen, but injured. After close to an hour of questioning (which was basically the old fool demanding the same answers but phrasing each query in a different way) they had finally been given leave to visit the Hospital Wing – Harry had conceded that Madam Pomfrey could treat him, as he had no problem with her, but asked that any potions first be inspected by his papa. The Medi-witch had agreed to this, understanding the caution after Harry had been Portkeyed to a different place than what was expected. She bustled around the two students, muttering uncomplimentary things about the “idiots who decided this Tournament was a good idea!” as she fetched the potions necessary to heal the two boys. She was especially vicious in cursing Hagrid, who she knew was responsible for many of the animals being in the maze in the first place. Luckily there wasn’t too much wrong with Harry, and although Madam Pomfrey wanted to keep him in overnight she conceded that he could go, provided he spend the night with his papa in case something happened. Harry was insanely grateful for that concession, as he was more than fed up with having to pretend that he wasn’t ecstatic about (or even aware of) the Dark Lord’s return.

 

Sinking onto his papa’s sofa with a relieved sigh, Harry knew that his excitement was showing, but as the two Slytherins were alone in the professor’s quarters it didn’t matter. His papa was asking about the Dark Lord’s appearance and demeanour, presumably hoping it was vastly different from the insanity that had gripped him towards the end of the first part of the war; to his relief, his son was able to assuage any fears that he had, thus making him grateful to his son for his willing participation in the ritual – he had researched alternatives once Barty had spoken to him, and the particular ritual Barty had mentioned the Dark Lord wanted to use (the one that called for the unwilling blood of an enemy) had sent shivers down his spine in a bad way as he realised that it would severely compromise the Dark Lord’s sanity and appearance.  Thankfully that had not come to pass.

 

Having gotten the story from his son, and seeing the yawns the teen was trying to hide, Severus quickly packed the boy off to bed, assuring him that they would talk more in the morning. Despite the cold façade he still put on towards the rest of the world, his son meant everything to him, and knowing that his son was in a potentially fatal Tournament had weighed on the man more than he had realised. Feeling that weight gone with the safe return of his son from the Forest (although he knew the Portkey hadn’t been set to those co-ordinates originally) relieved him; without realising, the surly Potions professor slipped into sleep, idly wondering when his Lord would call on him.


	40. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Lovelies! Hope you are all doing well, seems like forever since I've been able to post on here thanks to work; just one more month of that then I am back to school. I want to give a big thanks to Elli for putting up with me in being a co-writer, when she has done all this amazing work, from answering comments to the editing through the whole thing! So thank you Elli Love you bunches sweetie!
> 
> Anyways, we are coming to the end just one last chapter to post after this *gasps* I hope you are ready, for myself I was sad to see the last chapter written out, but at the same time proud to see it done! enough from me, on to the chapter!

The next morning found Harry and Severus relaxing in front of the fire in the latter’s quarters, mostly successfully avoiding a certain headmaster after the long interrogation he had put them through the night before. If it wasn’t for the believability of the fake memories the Dark Lord had implanted in Cedric’s head, and the fact that his papa had taught Harry both occlumency and legilimency, the doddering old fool would have known what had really happened after the Portkey had taken them both from school grounds. Harry had felt the headmaster poking around in his head last night, presumably trying to find out the true version of what had occurred, but Harry was able to conjure fake but believable memories of pain and wandering in the Forest in a kind of hazy way – that way even if the memories of Cedric and Harry differed slightly, he could blame it on the Acromantula venom clouding his mind.

The morning was disrupted by a knock at the door. Father and son exchanged looks, wondering if it was worth opening the door or not. If it was the headmaster, the teen assumed he would have taken down the wards around the Floo before entering that way, or doing the same to the door and waltzing in as he was so fond of doing. Those possibilities meant that it wasn’t likely to be the headmaster who was now knocking, but it wasn’t guaranteed. It also was very unlikely to be Pansy, Draco or Hermione, as the girls had been keyed into the wards and Draco already was due to his position as Severus’ godson. If it was a teacher at the door, they would have had prior warning as the other professors would have sent an owl in advance of their visit, which meant that was another unlikely situation. So who was at the door? During the whole time of the duo thinking about who it could be, the knocking had continued, growing ever more annoying (and annoyed). Severus finally stood up and made his way to the door, flinging it open in true Dungeon-Bat style.

Standing in front of the now-open door was Mad-Eye Moody. Harry blinked once, twice, then three times. ‘Oh yeah!’ he thought as he started laughing at his forgetfulness (which he was again blaming on the Acromantula venom, after all he had to milk it while it was still a valid excuse). Severus was scowling at who he thought was a paranoid ex-Auror before turning to his son at the laughter that was bubbling out of the boy, giving him a look of concern that you would have missed unless you knew the man well.

“Papa, let him in,” Harry said once he had gotten himself under control and only the occasional giggle was escaping. “I’m so sorry, I’ve had the brain of a flobberworm the past twenty-four hours!” he apologised to Barty, who was limping his way into the Potions Master’s living quarters.

“Well, I definitely wouldn’t say that you got that from your papa,” the imposter replied. “Mind filling him in?”

Harry looked over at his papa; seeing the man’s confusion, he decided to clue him in – at least a little; after all, it was fun to see his unflappable papa looking baffled, even if it was in such a micro-emotion that most would never have seen it. “Papa, do you have the potion to reverse the effects of Polyjuice, by any chance?”

Severus scowled at his son, seeing the mirth in the child’s eyes and knowing that it was at his expense. “I am a Potions Master, and you have to ask if I have the potion to reverse the effects of Polyjuice?” Harry just shrugged and smiled at his papa, knowing the man was just playing with him, likely as a result of the boy laughing at him, even internally. Severus shook his head at the imp of a boy before Accio-ing said potion. Harry thanked his papa before turning back to Barty and extending the potion to him.

“I think it would be better if you had your real face, before it gets confusing for everyone,” the teen said. Barty smirked before swallowing the potions, quickly removing the false leg and magical eye as they were replaced by the real ones natural to his true form. Harry looked away as soon as he saw the man taking the potion, knowing that seeing the man remove the eye especially would make him feel sick, as it had last night.

“Ahh, much better!” Barty said as his body was finally his own again. “I’m in sync again! I tell you, trying to walk with that monstrosity that passes for a leg was a nightmare!”

Severus was slightly shocked; although Barty had spoken to him about swaying his son to the Dark side, he had done so in his true form, and thus the dour Potions teacher had had no idea that the man had been in the school for the whole year. He should have been used to shocks by now, considering that he had known Harry was his son for almost nine months, but he was still momentarily blindsided. “I do hope that you remembered to take breaks between your doses of Polyjuice, or you will have to face the consequences of prolonged use of the potion,” he snarked, half in teacher mode at the idea that Barty might have been so careless, and half in an effort to restore himself to his usual equilibrium.

“Oh don’t worry so much, Severus! I took potions too and came close to beating your scores if you remember, so of course I know how many times a day and for how long a duration a person can take Polyjuice, and built those into my cover,” Barty explained, placing a hand over his heart as though wounded that Severus thought so lowly of him. Harry mentally rolled his eyes at the melodrama, praying to all gods and goddesses that Barty would never meet his dogfathers… Or the twins… Or worse, both sets! Merlin, it was bad enough that the twins met two of their heroes; Harry still laughed at the thought of the resulting pranks.

“Then don’t come crying to me if you’ve miscalculated and need a potion to fix whatever issue you may have as a result of your stupidity!” Severus sneered back, a playful light well-hidden in his ebony eyes.

Harry stepped in to stop a fight, no matter how playful, breaking out in their quarters and drawing the attention of the others, especially the headmaster. “Barty, what brings you here? There must be a reason for you showing up unannounced, no matter how much you may have wanted to freak out my papa.

Barty threw Harry a wounded look, one that suited his true form. “But Hadrian! I thought we were friends? And as such good friends, I thought I should come and check that you are truly all right after your horrible ordeal in the Forest last night!” Seeing that Harry wasn’t rising to the bait, an unimpressed look on his face, Barty sighed. “Fine. If you must know what dragged me here, it’s the plan for the summer. Our Lord wants things done a certain way and expects perfection from both of you in your parts…” Saying that, he glanced at both Harry and Severus, finding them looking completely nonplussed – something that was a true rarity when it was possible they would soon be facing the wrath of the Dark Lord. That look processed, Barty then explained what they needed to do in the last few days of school and for the first couple of weeks of the summer holidays before meeting up with the Dark Lord and Barty, who would naturally be staying with the man as he was currently thought to be dead and all. That discussed, the trio devolved into talk about more pleasant things, and whiled away the day doing so.


	41. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is it guys, the end of part 1!!! I can't believe it, this time last year Demon and I hadn't even spoken yet (I first emailed her on the 16th of July, and she replied the same day)!!! To think we've managed to write 40 chapters in just under a year is insane!!!  
> But I'll get onto the interesting bits now xD yes, this means part 1 is completed, and yes, there will be a part 2. HOWEVER, due to scheduling work for Demon, and trying to deal with the heat chasing Musey away for me, we have NOT started writing part 2 yet. This means that there will be a lengthy break between posting this chapter and starting to post part 2, because I don't like that we had to take a hiatus partway through this part and so want to get 1/2 or 2/3 of the second part written before we start posting. BUT DO NOT WORRY. Part 2 will come! And although this chapter kinda ends on a cliffhanger, it's a very mild one - we don't leave off in a fight scene or anything, and realistically you can kinda see the cliffhanger coming xD  
> To everyone who has read this, enjoyed, commented, kudosed, bookmarked, or even just thought it was kinda cool, THANK YOU. To the fans who have been with us from really early on in the posting process, have some cookies *throws cookies to the early birds xD* As authors we need validation that our work is kinda good, even though I look back at the early chapters and think our writing was pretty immature compared to now, so THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to anybody who has given us any kind of validation at all!!! I love you guys so much, I truly can't put it into words  
> Okay I'ma shut up and let you read the final chapter of this part now. Hope all y'all enjoy!!!

The three Slytherins had spent an enjoyable day together, catching up in the case of Severus and Barty, and learning more about the Dark side in Harry’s case. By the time dinner had come around the three had shared lunch and spent some time in Severus’ private labs, Barty watching the father and son as they created potions together. He was amazed by the way the two flowed around each other, each working on multiple potions at different times – there were five cauldrons going simultaneously at one point, and both Harry and Severus moved between them, adding ingredients, stirring, or adjusting the flame as needed. That took up a couple of hours, by which time it was drawing near to the dinner hour. And sadly, it was then that Barty needed to take his leave – not just of them, but of Hogwarts as a whole. Now the Dark Lord was back, he would be spending his time following the man’s orders, working in the shadows due to his believed status of being dead.

 

Getting Barty out proved surprisingly easy: Harry took the two men to the Chamber of Secrets, them under disillusionment spells and Harry under his cloak. From there he hissed to open the chamber and all three men descended; upon reaching the main room, having cleared up the remnants of Lockhart’s mishap two years previously, the teen simply hissed in Parseltongue, asking for a passage that let out beyond the wards. Hogwarts had been partially built by a Parselmouth, after all, and as such recognised requests in the language. That done, Severus and his son bid Barty farewell, and the man was gone. Harry would miss him, strangely, but at least he only had a few more days before he could go to his new home and truly be himself again.

 

*             *             *

 

It was finally the Leaving Feast, and Harry couldn’t be more relieved. Although he was now able to be more himself, due to being in the Snake Pit, he couldn’t let on that the Dark Lord had returned – he wasn’t sure if the man wanted anyone to know of his reappearance, and he also wasn’t sure which of his classmates knew occlumency and thus could be trusted with the knowledge. As such he faced multiple questions about his alleged time in the Forest with the Hufflepuff, and he was fed up to the back teeth of them. He took his place at the Slytherin table with a sigh of relief; the train would be leaving early the next morning, taking his friends away. As son of a staff member, Harry didn’t have to take the train, so instead he would be spending a couple of hours reading while the final staff meeting of the year took place, and then his papa would apparate them to their home. It would be the first time that Harry would see the building, having remained at Hogwarts over the Yule break due to the Ball and his papa being required to stay. He was slightly nervous, but knew that ultimately he would come to view it as home – after all, it was a place with his papa, and where he could truly drop any masks he wore.

 

It felt slightly strange to be watching the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students leaving, seeing as they had been there for almost nine months and everyone had grown used to their presence. Harry would miss watching Ronald Weasley making a complete fool of himself around several of the Beauxbatons girls, who were apparently at least part Veela. It was a good strange though, as it meant there would no longer be tasks which put him to the test and could ultimately end in his (or someone else’s) death. Added to that, there would be less pressure from the press, and feelings about Harry around the school would kind of normalise – he was always going to be someone who everyone either loved or hated, due to his stupid status as the Boy-Who-Lived, but at least now they no longer constantly thought of him as a cheater or someone who would do anything to increase his fame. Of course his true friends never thought that about him; well, maybe some Slytherins had at the start, especially because of him suddenly being announced as Severus’ son at the same time, but once they had gotten to know him even marginally they realised that he actually loathed his fame and didn’t want it in the first place. It was understandable to the Snakes as they thought on it a bit more – who would want to be famous for losing their parents, regardless of whether he survived the Killing Curse or not? This thankfully meant that although the school had collectively seemed to lose their shit over Harry’s name coming out of the Goblet of Fire, there was still a refuge for Harry where nobody outwardly thought him a liar and a cheat – two places, technically, if you include his papa’s quarters. Nonetheless, it was now all over, and Harry had a summer to look forward to, one that would no longer include the Dursleys at all, and definitely didn’t include being worked like a disgraced House Elf. All in all, Harry thought as he looked around the room at his schoolmates, he was very glad this year was over. The Dark Lord had returned, he was now comfortable that his magic leant more towards the Dark than the Light, and best of all he was no longer expected to fight a man with more than sixty years’ experience and knowledge. Yes, Harry was generally happy, although he was definitely pissed off that the House Cup had gone to Gryffindor despite them not being the House in the lead the morning of the Leaving Feast. However he also knew that that was down to Dumbledore, not those in the House, and so was content to let it be – for now. After all, Dumbledore’s time was coming, and it was coming soon…

**Author's Note:**

> Heyy Lovelies, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter! We Live of off Kudos and Comments so if you can drop some below we will be most grateful to you! If you are too shy to post a comment on here send me an email at demondog136@yahoo.com and I will answer any question or comments you have! :) Till next time!
> 
> Or you can email me (address is on my profile, EllianaNarna), however whilst this story is on hiatus I won't be reading/replying to emails. Sorry lovelies, but life sucks. Hope you enjoyed the fic though!


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